SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C.

Litigation Release No. 17374 / February 22, 2002

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Alejandro Duclaud Gonzalez de Castilla, et al., 01 Civ. 3999 (RWS) (S.D.N.Y.)

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced several developments in this insider trading litigation.

First, on February 6, 2002, Judge Robert W. Sweet of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered final judgments against Ignacio Guerrero Pesqueira and his offshore trust, defendant Banrise Ltd. BVI. The Commission's amended complaint adds Guerrero as a defendant and alleges, in pertinent part, that Guerrero and Banrise traded illegally in the stocks of CompUSA, Inc., and Prodigy Communications. It further alleges that Guerrero, a former Executive Director of Bital, the fourth largest bank in Mexico, is a close friend of the tipper, defendant Alejandro Duclaud. The final judgments permanently enjoin Guerrero and Banrise from violating Sections 10(b) and 14(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5 and 14e-3 thereunder, and order them to pay, jointly and severally, $1,550,000 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest. Guerrero and Banrise consented to the entry of the final judgments without admitting or denying the allegations in the Commission's complaint.

Second, in a decision dated February 8, 2002, Judge Sweet granted the Commission's motion to amend its complaint to add allegations related to securities violations arising out of the Prodigy transactions against Guerrero and existing defendants Banrise, Alejandro Duclaud, A. Duclaud's offshore Anushka Trust, Rodrigo Igartua, and Igartua's offshore Antares Trust. In addition, the court granted the defendants' motions for summary judgment dismissing the Commission's allegations related to securities violations arising out of the CompUSA transactions. The Commission is reviewing this portion of the decision to determine whether it will appeal.