Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street powerhouse, has been accused of defrauding¹ investors² by America's financial regulator.

美国金融监管机构指控华尔街高盛投资公司欺诈投资者。

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleges³ that Goldman failed to disclose（揭露，公开） conflicts of interest.

The claims concern Goldman's marketing⁴ of sub-prime mortgage（抵押） investments just as the US housing market faltered⁵（颤抖，踌躇） .

Goldman rejected the SEC's allegations, saying that it would "vigorously" defend its reputation（声望，名声） .

News that the SEC was pressing civil fraud charges against Goldman and one of its London-based vice⁶ presidents, Fabrice Tourre, sent shares in the investment bank tumbling 12%.

The SEC says Goldman failed to disclose "vital information" that one of its clients, Paulson & Co, helped choose which securities were packaged into the mortgage portfolio⁷（文件夹，公文包） .

These securities were sold to investors in 2007.

But Goldman did not disclose that Paulson, one of the world's largest hedge funds, had bet that the value of the securities would fall.

The SEC said: "Unbeknownst（不知的） to investors, Paulson... which was posed to benefit if the [securities] defaulted, played a significant role in selecting which [securities] should make up the portfolio."

"In sum, Goldman Sachs arranged a transaction（交易，会报） at Paulson's request in which Paulson heavily influenced the selection of the portfolio to suit its economic interests," said the Commission.