The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk over his acquisition of Twitter. The regulator claims that Musk violated securities laws because he was late in disclosing the necessary information. This is reported by The Verge.
Before Musk agreed to buy Twitter for $44 billion, he acquired a large stake in the company, but announced it only a few weeks later.
The main problem, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission, is that Musk disclosed his stake in the company after the 10-day deadline required by the agency had already passed. The Commission claims that he should have filed the documents by March 24, 2022, not April 4, when he did so. During this time, Musk has acquired more than $500 million worth of shares in the company.
However, with only a few days left before the Trump administration takes office and has to appoint a new chairman of the Commission, it is unclear how far the litigation will go.
The regulator claims that Musk caused investors losses of at least $150 million due to untimely disclosure. According to the lawsuit, investors who sold shares between March 25 and April 1, 2022 suffered losses.