WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (KUNA) -- The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Elon Musk, the world richest person, alleging that he violated securities law related to his acquisition of Twitter (X).
According to the lawsuit filed, Musk owned 5 percent of Twitter shares in 2022 before buying the site in a major deal exceeding USD 40 billion in late 2022 and as per the law supervised by the SEC, those who own 5 percent or more of any company's shares must declare this to the relevant authorities, which Musk did not do.
"Defendant Elon Musk failed to timely file with the SEC a beneficial ownership report disclosing his acquisition of more than five percent of the outstanding shares of Twitter's common stock in March 2022, in violation of the federal securities laws. As a result, Musk was able to continue purchasing shares at artificially low prices, allowing him to underpay by at least USD 150 million for shares he purchased after his beneficial ownership report was due," said the committee.
The SEC is an independent government agency that was established about 100 years ago to carry out tasks such as combating market manipulation, protecting investors, maintaining fair, orderly and efficient markets, and facilitating capital formation. (end) asj.aa