The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a civil lawsuit against Elon Musk for securities fraud in the 2022 purchase of the social network Twitter, renamed as X.
The lawsuit alleges that Musk failed to disclose the accumulation of an active stake in Twitter as required, which would have allowed him to acquire shares at "artificially low prices," as reported by EFE.
This action by the SEC comes six days before the current president, Joe Biden, leaves office. Musk purchased Twitter for 44 billion dollars in 2022, but at the beginning of that year, he had reportedly accumulated a 9% stake in the company without publicly disclosing it in time.
SEC rules require disclosure of a stake exceeding 5% in a company within a 10-day period, something Musk failed to do.
This allowed him to continue buying shares worth around 500 million dollars, saving nearly 150 million dollars, according to the SEC.
Regulators, who filed the lawsuit in a federal court in the District of Columbia, are seeking for Musk to be ordered to return the unjust gains obtained and pay a fine.
Musk's lawyer, Alex Spiro, stated in a release that his client "has done nothing wrong" and labeled the lawsuit as "fraud."
Since the purchase of Twitter, Musk has become involved in domestic and international politics and has become a significant donor to Donald Trump's presidential campaign.
The president-elect has promised Musk an influential role, leading an advisory body dedicated to cutting public spending and regulations.