The SEC accused Elon Musk of failing to disclose ownership of Twitter in time before buying it

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has charged billionaire Elon Musk with failing to disclose his ownership of Twitter stock in early 2022 before buying the social media site.

As a result, the SEC alleges, Musk was able to underpay “at least $150 million” for the shares he bought after disclosing ownership of more than 5% of Twitter shares. Musk bought Twitter in October 2022 and later renamed it X.

Musk began piling up shares of Twitter in 2015. At this point, the complaint said it was required by law to disclose its ownership, but failed to do so until April 4, 11 days after the report was filed.

Musk’s attorney, Alex Spiro, said in a statement that the lawsuit “is an admission that they can’t bring a valid case with the SEC because he did nothing wrong.” He called the allegations “preposterous”.

“When the SEC Backs Down and Leaves Office – The SEC’s multi-year harassment campaign against Mr. Musk ends with a single count of tic-tac-toe complaint against Mr. Musk under Section 13(d). A single form – if verified, nothing Even anonymity is a punishable offense,” Spiro added.

After Musk An agreement was signed In April 2022, he tried to find Twitter Going back He leads to sue the company to force him to go through with the purchase.

The SEC said it authorized an investigation into Musk’s purchase of Twitter stock beginning in April 2022 and whether any securities laws were violated in connection with his disclosures and SEC filings related to the company.

Before filing the lawsuit, the SEC went Court in an attempt to force Muk to testify as part of an investigation into the Twitter acquisition.

The current chair of the SEC, Gary Gensler plans to resign From the January 20th post, it is unclear whether the new administration will continue the lawsuit.