According to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), before becoming the owner of X, Musk acquired more than 5% of the company’s shares in 2022, which should have been publicly disclosed
The United States financial market regulatory authority (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against tycoon Elon Musk alleging violations in his repurchase of Twitter shares in 2022, according to a court document released this Tuesday (14 ). “The accused failed to timely file with the SEC a beneficial ownership report that disclosed its acquisition of more than 5% of the outstanding common shares of the in March 2022, in violation of federal securities laws,” the agency said. According to the SEC, this omission would have allowed him to “avoid paying at least $150 million [pouco mais de R$ 900 milhões, na cotação atual] for the shares he purchased after the expiration of his effective ownership” of the platform now called X.
“Today’s filing is an admission by the SEC that it does not have a strong enough case because Mr. Musk did nothing wrong,” Musk’s lawyer Alex Spiro told AFP. The SEC filed a lawsuit against Musk in October 2024 to compel him to give testimony as part of an investigation into the Twitter acquisition, one of many legal proceedings linked to this controversial purchase, and indicated that he had not appeared at a hearing whose date has been modified several times. A federal judge then ruled that Musk must appear before the SEC in February 2024.
In turn, Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, assured that the testimony of the head of Tesla and SpaceX had already been “taken several times as part of this mistaken investigation. That’s enough.” The tergiversations and attacks that emerged in the months before the purchase, as well as the subsequent decisions of the new owner, sparked controversy and several legal actions from investors, former employees and companies that had contracts with Twitter. Shareholders had already filed a lawsuit against Musk accusing him of having disclosed his 5% stake in Twitter too late, after the deadline set by the SEC.
*With information from AFP
Posted by Victor Oliveira
