Citi Fined $30 Million By Massachusetts Over Unreleased Apple Data Sharing

Citigroup has been fined $30 million by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in a settlement after a Citi analyst sent confidential research information to major clients without sharing it with the public, reports Reuters.

The research, which included negative order forecasts for the iPhone, was shared with major Citi clients including SAC, T. Rowe Price, Citadel, and GLG partners -- but not with Citi's retail investors, putting them at a competitive disadvantage.

"The emails between Kevin Chang and the hedge funds reveal this cozy culture which illustrates again that there are two types of customers; big ones and retail customers who often dont' receive this information," [Massachusetts Secretary of State William] Galvin said in a telephone interview.

The complaint cites an email from an unidentified SAC employee who asked a contact at Citi "can u send me everything u have on the entire iphone 4/4s/5 supply chain?.

Citi employees responded immediately by asking their colleagues "can you please send directly to (employee for SAC Capital) ... He needs it asap - works directly for (SAC Capital).'

Citi was previously fined $2 million by Massachusetts for improper disclosures related to Facebook's IPO last year. The analyst in question, Kevin Chang, was terminated by Citi last month.