Former Oracle Executive Settles SEC Insider Trading Charges

May 15, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday accused former Oracle Corp. vice president Christopher Balkenhol of improperly profiting from his wife's knowledge about two deals in the works by Oracle's chief executive Larry Ellison - her boss.

The regulator alleged that Balkenhol’s wife’s inside knowledge of her bosses’ deals lead Balkenhol to invest more than $530,000 in two of Oracle’s takeover targets during 2005. According to the charges, his wife told him about secret meetings leading up to Oracle’s successful bids to buy a pair of rival business software makers – Retek Inc. and Siebel Systems Inc.

By acquiring Retek and Siebel shares before Oracle made the takeover offer, Balkenhol garnered more than $97,000 in profits.

According to the AP, Balkenhol settled civil charges filed in a San Francisco federal court for $199,000.   The profits he realized as a result of his inside information are being repaid as part of the SEC settlement, which also imposed more than $100,000 in penalties and interest.

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