Who is Carl Icahn the Billionaire investor who agreed to pay $2 million fines to SEC after Hindenburg expose?
Carl Icahn and his holding company, Icahn Enterprises, were charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission after he allegedly failed to disclose information about stock pledges against the company to secure loans worth billions of dollars.
Activist short-seller Hindenburg Research, which has become a household name in India after raising allegations against the Adani Group, has claimed victory after American billionaire investor Carl Icahn was charged by US regulators with failing to disclose billions of dollars worth of personal loans.
SEC charges against Carl Icahn
Icahn and his holding company, Icahn Enterprises, were charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission after he allegedly failed to disclose information about stock pledges against the company to secure loans worth billions of dollars.
BREAKING: The SEC just charged Carl Icahn over allegations that he failed to disclose key aspects of his margin loans.$IEP https://t.co/8PVFY42mol https://t.co/jy41ntwu0f
¡ª Hindenburg Research (@HindenburgRes) August 19, 2024
CREDIT: AP
In May 2023, Hindenburg Research released a report claiming that Icahn Enterprises was running a 'ponzi-like' scheme in providing dividends to its investors.
Who is Carl Icahn?
88-year-old Icahn is one of the best-known activist investors on Wall Street. He is known for what is called a corporate raid, where he will acquire a large stake in a company and then force changes there to make its financial position better. This, however, has not always been successful, and many such companies that Icahn acquired went through asset stripping and bankruptcy.
CREDIT: REUTERS
Some of the most high-profile companies Icahn attempted a hostile takeover of include eBay and Netflix.
According to the latest Forbes report, Icahn has a net worth of about $5.2 billion.
Carl Icahn denies any wrongdoing
It should be noted that while IEP and Icahn have agreed to pay $1.5 million and $500,000 in civil penalties, respectively, to the SEC to settle the charges, they have not admitted any wrongdoing.
CREDIT: REUTERS
In response after the SEC settlement, Icahn said the government investigation into the Hindenburg allegations found absolutely no fraud and did not find any inflation of IEP¡¯s NAV or impropriety in its dividends.
In response to media inquiries, Carl C. Icahn released the following statements with respect to today¡¯s announcement by the SEC regarding settlements reached with Icahn Enterprises L.P. (IEP) and Mr. Icahn ¨C
¡ª Carl Icahn (@Carl_C_Icahn) August 19, 2024
Jonathan Streeter, outside counsel to IEP at Dechert LLP stated: ¡°More¡
Also read: Gautam Adani¡¯s Net Worth Crosses $100 Billion For The First Time Since Hindenburg Report
Carl Icahn vs Hindenburg
¡°After Hindenburg issued a false report to make money on its short position at the expense of ordinary investors, the government investigation that followed has resulted in this settlement which makes no claim that IEP or I inflated NAV or engaged in a ¡®Ponzi-like¡¯ structure. Hindenburg¡¯s modus operandi, which is to publish scurrilous and unsupported allegations, did damage to IEP and its investors. We are glad to put this matter behind us and will continue to focus on operating the business for the benefit of unitholders,¡± Carl Icahn said.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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