The U.S. Securities and ExchangeCommission said it charged a managing director of
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith Ltd in London with
masterminding "a massive insider trading scheme."
    Nahum Vaskevitch, managing director of the Mergers and
Acquisitions Department of the broker's London office, was
charged in a civil complaint by the SEC filed in Manhattan
Federal Court.
    The complaint said Vaskevitch leaked information about 12
companies involved in a merger or acquisition which resulted in
more than four mln dlrs in profit for himself and others
involved in the scheme.
    Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith is a subsidiary of
Merrill Lynch and Co Inc.
 Reuter
