Traders charged in kickback scheme involving Venezuelan official

U.S. Securities regulators charged four people on Tuesday in connection with a kickback scheme involving a Venezuelan finance official.

The Securities and Exchange Commission alleged the defendants, who have ties to New York broker-dealer Direct Access Partners, bribed the official to secure the bond trading business of the state-owned Banco de Desarrollo Econ��mico y Social de Venezuela.

Three of the defendants also face related criminal charges, the SEC said.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Aruna Viswanatha. Editing by Andre Grenon)