Ex-Goldman Sachs Banker Bryan Cohen Pleads Guilty in Insider Case

A Goldman Sachs Group Inc. investment banker ensnared in a global insider-trading ring pleaded guilty to conspiracy on Tuesday, admitting he passed confidential information stolen from the bank to a trader in Switzerland. Bryan Cohen’s guilty plea on Tuesday came as another alleged member of the ring, Telemaque Lavidas, stood trial in the same Manhattan courthouse. Cohen, 33, was arrested in October and accused of passing tips about pending mergers, using burner phones and speaking in code. Goldman placed Cohen on paid leave after his arrest.”The information that Cohen provided ultimately resulted in substantial profits for the traders who received it and traded based on it,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said in a statement announcing the plea.

Cohen and Lavidas are among six people who are charged in connection with the ring. Also accused are Greek businessman Georgios Nikas; Joseph El-Khouri, a securities trader and avid poker player who lives in London and Monaco; and Benjamin Taylor, a former Moelis & Co. investment banker who lived with Windsor in London.

Marc Demane-Debih, a Swiss trader who was arrested last year in Serbia and extradited to the U.S., pleaded guilty and is cooperating with prosecutors.

Cohen has now been fired, Goldman Sachs spokeswoman Nicole Sharp said Tuesday.

https://www.bloomberg.com//news/articles/2020-01-07/ex-goldman-sachs-banker-cohen-pleads-guilty-in-insider-case