SAC Capital Pleads 'Not Guilty' To Five Charges Of Criminal Insider Trading

REUTERS/Michelle McLoughlinAn exterior view of the headquarters of SAC Capital Advisors, L.P. in Stamford, Connecticut on July 25, 2013. Federal prosecutors took a double-barreled approach against hedge fund billionaire Steven A. Cohen on Thursday, unveiling criminal fraud charges against his SAC Capital Advisors LP and a separate civil case seeking to freeze assets and money laundering penalties.Defense lawyers for Steve Cohen's $14 billion SAC Capital Advisors pleaded not guilty to all five criminal charges of insider trading during an arraignment this morning at a federal court in Lower Manhattan, CNBC's Kayla Tausche reports.

This was expected and this also allows the fund to continue operations.

Yesterday, a federal grand jury indicted SAC. The fund was charged with four counts of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud, the indictment states. According to the indictment, U.S. prosecutors are also seeking the forfeiture of profits from ill-gotten gains.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said during a press conference yesterday that the indictment "is more broadly an account of a firm with zero tolerance of low returns, but seemingly questionable tolerance for bad behavior." Bharara added that the firm had a "compliance system that appeared to talk the talk, but almost never walked the walk."

SAC said in a statement yesterday afternoon following the U.S. Attorney's presser that it has "never encouraged, promoted or tolerated insider trading and takes its compliance and management obligations seriously."

Bharara has a 100% success track record in prosecuting insider trading cases, CNBC's Tausche pointed out.