Last week’s news carried an SEC press release recounting charges filed against a Florida stock promoter accused of fraud on investors.  Details were unremarkable, and for purposes of this post unnecessary.  At the end of the release, as is typical, the SEC identifies the regulators behind the investigation.  Normally there are a few names of people and agencies.  In this case, proving that there is nowhere to hide in this world if you think you are too clever to be caught, here are the agencies cited as participating in that enforcement effort: SEC; US Attorneys in Alabama, New Jersey, New York, Virginia; US Department of Justice; FBI; US Postal Service; Homeland Security; Alabama Securities Commission; FINRA; Alberta Securities Commission; British Columbia Securities Division, Cayman Islands Monetary Authority; and regulatory commissions or agencies in Cyprus, Dubai, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Newfoundland, Singapore, Switzerland, UAE and the UK.

This effort is both impressive and reassuring, but if you would like an unsettling counterpoint: why was the SEC unable to bring Bernie Madoff to ground for decades as he sat in the middle of New York doing everything in one place — even after receiving repeated tips and after visiting his office?