On Monday a seventy million dollar settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Citigroup had been balked by a federal judge. This is the second time in this year when a judge pointed out whether the agency has got the accurate sanction from a bank

Judge Ellen S Huvelle from the district court of Columbia, attending a hearing on the settlement raised questions regarding the agencies investigation into the bank. It also raised questions regarding the amount of penalty and the agencies decision regarding the individual executives who also are faced with sanctions as stated by lawyers who were present at the hearing.

The judge asked why shareholders of the company should bear the money of the sanction and why SEC had charged two of the bank’s executives when more executives were known to be involved.

The judge asked both the agency and the bank to provide with additional information and ordered them to file their briefs. She scheduled the next hearing in the month of coming September. According to spokesman both the agency and the bank will provide the judge with the required information.

The judge’s action had put the agency in a defensive position as it tried to depict that it has the capacity to hold major firms of the Wall Street and their executives accountable for actions that possibly have added to the financial crisis.

In a similar incident last year Sec had been denounced by a judge for settling an issue with Bank of America, where the judge charged the agency stating that the bank did not bring into open about its losses and planned to pay billions of dollars to its employees as bonuses.

The judge approved the settlement half-heartedly only after Sec added new charges and increased the fine amount.