The US Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed Deputy Inspector General Noelle Maloney as interim inspector general to temporarily replace David Kotz, who is leaving the SEC for a job with a private investigative firm. Maloney will head the inspector general's office while the agency searches for a replacement, the SEC said. Kotz, 45, developed a reputation as a tough internal watchdog during his four-year tenure at the SEC.
He probed everything from the agency's failure to catch convicted Ponzi swindler Bernard Madoff to bungled SEC contracts and even pornography-watching by agency employees. But the hard-hitting lawyer has also drawn criticism from SEC staff who have complained his tactics have led to a culture of fear at the agency.