FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                             2001-115


         Securities and Exchange Commission Request
 Relating to Information Pertaining to the Terrorist Attacks

To All Securities-Related Entities:

     Washington, DC, October 18, 2001 -- The Securities and
Exchange Commission today asked all securities-related
entities (whether or not registered with the SEC) to
cooperate voluntarily with law enforcement authorities in
their ongoing investigations in the wake of the recent
terrorist attacks on this country.  Over the last month,
brokers, dealers, investment advisers, investment companies,
transfer agents, exchanges and other self-regulatory
organizations and industry groups have been asked to review
their records and work with law enforcement officials to
identify any transactions or relationships with certain
individuals or entities that have been identified by the FBI
and other law enforcement agencies.  To facilitate these
efforts, we, along with other financial regulators, have
worked with law enforcement officials on a mechanism that
will assure the expeditious distribution of a unified list
of individuals and entities to a broad range of financial
institutions.  This list will be referred to as the Control
List.  Because the Control List contains confidential
information, we ask that you disseminate the information
within your institution only on a need-to-know basis.  Under
no circumstances should the Control List or the information
contained in it be disseminated outside your institution.
     
     Law enforcement officials will provide the Control List
to the SEC.  We will, in turn, send your institution a copy
of the Control List through e-mail.  We will also send
electronic updates to the list on a regular basis.
Identical Control Lists (and updates) will also be
disseminated by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to
banking institutions and by the Commodities Futures Trading
Commission to futures commission merchants.  We need your
immediate help in starting this system.  We request that you
designate a senior-level individual within your firm who
appreciates the sensitive nature of the investigation and
will exercise appropriate discretion to be the point person
for all communications relating to the Control List.  Please
provide this person's name, title, telephone number and,
most importantly, e-mail address by Friday, October 26,
2001.  Please send this information to the following e-mail
address:  Enf-Search@sec.gov
     
     Once this information is received, the Control List
will be distributed, and your firm will be asked voluntarily
to check its records to determine whether any of the
individuals or entities on the Control List have or have had
any transactions or relationships with your firm in the
United States or elsewhere.
     
     If your firm identifies any transaction or relationship
with any of the individuals or entities, you are requested to
send an e-mail message promptly to Enf-Search@sec.gov
indicating that you have a positive response and the nature
of the information.  Following that, the SEC will contact
your firm's point person and arrange for receipt of relevant
account, trading and other information from your firm.
     
     Please note the following:
     
*  Similar requests have been issued to banking
  institutions jointly by financial institution supervisors,
  and to futures commission merchants by the CFTC.  To
  minimize the burden on those entities subject to regulation
  by both the SEC and the CFTC such an entity may provide
  responsive information for the entire entity to either the
  SEC or the CFTC, after notifying both agencies that it has a
  positive response.  In the alternative, such an entity may
  choose instead to provide responsive information concerning
  a particular area of regulatory authority to the appropriate
  regulatory agency.

*  Some securities-related entities are affiliated with
  banks or similar affiliates that are subject to suspicious
  activity reporting requirements of bank regulators.  In
  accordance with the suspicious activity reporting rules,
  those affiliates are also reminded to report any suspicious
  activity related to any of the names on the Control List by
  filing a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) with the Treasury
  Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
  If the information is time sensitive, it may also be
  reported through the FinCEN hotline at 1-866-556-3974 in
  addition to filing a written SAR.
     
*  This request is separate from the request issued by the
  SEC on September 26, concerning compliance with President
  Bush's September 24 executive order freezing United States
  assets of and blocking transactions with identified
  individuals and organizations.  The executive order can be
  viewed at www.treasury.gov/terrorism.html.  Questions
  concerning the asset freeze should be directed to the
  Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control
  (OFAC) at 1-800-540-6322.  Information concerning OFAC's
  Specially Designated Nationals List is available at
  www.ustreas.gov/ofac.
     
     We thank you for all of your efforts in this most
important endeavor.  Any questions concerning this voluntary
request should be directed to Enf-Search@sec.gov or (202)
942-4806.
     
     
     
                            # # #