‘Inside’ job arrest for Goldman exec

A Goldman Sachs investment banker in New York was arrested over allegations of insider trading in the US, according to court records unsealed on Friday.

Bryan Cohen, a vice president, leaked nonpublic information for almost three years in exchange for cash as part of an international insider-trading scheme that led to $2.6 million in illicit gains, according to a separate complaint from the Securities and Exchange Commission that didn’t identify his employer.

Some information was tied to pending deals involving Syngenta and Buffalo Wild Wings, the documents show.

A Goldman spokeswoman confirmed Cohen was an investment banker who worked in the consumer retail division. The bank was unaware of the allegations until Cohen was arrested Friday morning at his apartment in Manhattan. He has since been placed on leave.

“We are cooperating with the authorities on the situation regarding Mr. Cohen,” Nicole Sharp, a representative for the firm, said in an emailed statement. “Protecting client confidential information is our highest internal priority and we condemn this alleged behavior.”

Cohen appeared before US Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron on Friday and was released on a $250,000 bond pending a conference scheduled for Tuesday. Patrick Smith, an attorney representing Cohen, declined to comment.

The accusations are the third insider-trading allegations lodged by US prosecutors against a Goldman banker in the past 18 months.

Cohen, 33, shared the information with a trader who hasn’t been identified, and who subsequently passed it on to George Nikas, who realized the gains, according to the SEC complaint. Nikas, a 54-year-old New York restaurateur who owns the chain GRK Fresh, was also charged by prosecutors. Cohen expected and received an unspecified amount of cash in exchange for the tips he provided, the filings show.

Cohen has been with Goldman for almost 10 years, starting in the London office.