The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that three Peruvian traders have agreed to settle a pending case alleging that they traded on nonpublic information prior to the merger of two mining companies.

The SEC filed its complaint in September 2016, and the settlements were approved today in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Nino Coppero del Valle, the alleged tipper who worked at one of the companies, agreed to pay full disgorgement of $53,607.70 plus interest of $5,382.44. His close friend and fellow attorney Julio Antonio Castro Roca agreed to pay full disgorgement of $59,300.02 plus $5,514.97 in interest and a $59,300.02 penalty. The other trader, Ricardo Carrion, agreed without admitting or denying the allegations to pay full disgorgement of $54,144.10 plus $5,820.29 in interest and a $54,144.10 penalty.

“The settlement of these actions for full disgorgement plus penalties on top of that reflects the strength of the evidence gathered in the SEC investigation,” said Andrew M. Calamari, Director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office. “Overseas traders who violate U.S. insider trading laws can expect to face stiff monetary sanctions to resolve their cases.”

The final judgments also obtain permanent injunctive relief from each of the three defendants.

The SEC’s litigation was led by Jorge G. Tenreiro, Preethi Krishnamurthy, and Thomas P. Smith Jr.  The case was supervised by Sanjay Wadhwa. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Peruvian securities regulator Superintendencia del Mercado de Valores.