JPMorgan Chase has been fined $4 million by the Securities and Exchange Commission for mistakenly deleting 47 million emails, some of which the watchdog was trying to access.
JPMorgan Chase has been fined $4 million by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) due to the accidental deletion of 47 million emails. The incident occurred in 2019 when the bank attempted to remove older communications that were no longer required to be retained. This accidental deletion has raised concerns about its impact on ongoing regulatory investigations. It is not the first time JPMorgan Chase has faced penalties for communication preservation failures. The article provides details about the accidental deletion, its consequences for investigations, and the bank’s previous penalties. The deleted emails were highly relevant to ongoing regulatory investigations, and their permanent loss has cast uncertainty on the investigations’ outcomes. JPMorgan Chase mistakenly believed that all documents were coded to prevent permanent deletion based on representations made by its archiving vendor. The bank discovered the deletion issue in late 2019 and promptly notified the SEC. The $4 million fine is in addition to a previous penalty of $125 million imposed on the bank for its failure to preserve text messages and other communications. This incident emphasizes the importance of maintaining proper records and complying with regulatory requirements in the financial industry.