SEC v. Sergei Polevikov (front running, 2022)

Judgment entered

✓ Checked against the primary document on October 3, 2026. The library's summary, tags and figures for this record were compared with the regulator's own document by an AI model (Claude) following written instructions, with sampled and disputed records read a second time. No lawyer has reviewed them. A checked record can still contain errors, and checked does not mean endorsed. See how we check records or report a correction.

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In 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a final judgment against Sergei Polevikov, et al., alleging conduct this library classifies as front running. The release does not state a monetary figure that we were able to extract. A parallel criminal conviction, with a 33-month sentence, is referenced in the release.

The record

What was ordered

Civil penalty

—

Disgorgement

—

Prejudgment interest

—

Total relief

—

Alleged gain

$8.5m

A dash means the release did not state a figure we could extract, not that the figure is zero. Penalty and disgorgement are stored separately so aggregates across the library do not double-count the same dollars.

What is alleged to have happened

the Securities and Exchange Commission announced this matter on August 17, 2022 as release LR-25475. The respondents named are Sergei Polevikov (1 individual, 0 entities). The action was brought in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York.

This library tags the matter as front running, based on the conduct the regulator describes. Each tag links to a page explaining how that technique works, what statute it engages, and what penalties comparable actions have attracted. The tagging is ours, not the regulator's: agencies charge statutory provisions, not technique names.

The release references a parallel criminal proceeding: Polevikov pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 33 months in prison. Where a criminal case exists, the civil and criminal outcomes are recorded separately, because they resolve on different standards of proof.

A final judgment was entered against Polevikov himself, enjoining him and holding him liable for disgorgement. A separate claim against a relief defendant, his wife, named only to recover trading proceeds, was dismissed the same day; that dismissal does not apply to Polevikov.

What technique is this, and how does it work?

This action is tagged with one technique in our taxonomy. The tagging is ours: regulators charge statutory provisions, not technique names, so the mapping is an editorial judgement described in our editorial policy.

• Front running — see how it works, what statute it engages, and every other action tagged the same way.

Timeline

1. 2022-08-17 Litigation release published

Primary documents

Everything on this page derives from the documents below. Where our summary and the primary document disagree, the primary document is right.

• SEC litigation release

The linked release is a work of the United States government and is not subject to copyright. Our summary and narrative above are our own writing.

Related actions

Other actions in the library sharing at least one technique tag with this one.

Record added September 10, 2026. submit a correction.