For years, a threshold requirement for the SEC to obtain the equitable remedy of an officer and director bar against a defendant in one of its cases was an underlying fraud charge under Section 10(b).  As stated in Section 21(d)(2) of the Exchange Act, a court has the authority to

prohibit, conditionally or unconditionally, and permanently or for such period of time as it shall determine, any person who violated section 10(b) or the rules or regulations thereunder....

So historically, in a case like the recently settled enforcement action against David Michael, former director and chair of the audit committee of Del Global Technologies Corp., Inc., in which the SEC charged Michael only with violations of the books and records, internal controls, and lying-to-auditors provisions of Section 13 of the Exchange Act, no O&D bar would have been possible. 

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 changed this, however.  Section 305 of SOX amends Section 21(d) by adding a new Section 21(d)(5):

5.  Equitable Relief

In any action or proceeding brought or instituted by the Commission under any provision of the securities laws, the Commission may seek, and any Federal court may grant, any equitable relief that may be appropriate or necessary for the benefit of investors.

The end result?  Despite the absence of any fraud charge against David Michael, the SEC's settlement provided for a final judgment that, among other things, permanently bars Michael, pursuant to Exchange Act Section 21(d)(5), from serving as an officer or director of a public company.