Claims that the SEC gives special treatment to connected individuals continue to dog the US markets regulator. Susan Beck reports

Call it reverse accountability. In the wake of the financial crisis, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has often been criticised for failing to charge any top executives when it sues a big institution. But one case stands out as an exception. In February, the SEC announced it would settle fraud charges against Ralph Cioffi (pictured left) and Matthew Tannin (pictured right), the former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers who oversaw a 2008 implosion of their funds that led to $1.6bn (£1bn) in investor losses.

In a deal that was announced on the day their civil trial was set to begin, the two men agreed to pay a total of $1.05m (£660,000). But their employer – Bear Stearns Asset Management, now owned by JP Morgan Chase – was never charged.