The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Friday that it would seek sanctions against entrepreneur Elon Musk. The reason for this is Musk’s failure to appear for a scheduled testimony as part of the SEC investigation into the $44 billion takeover of the social media platform Twitter.
According to a recent court filing, the SEC is seeking an order forcing Musk to provide a valid reason for his absence to avoid being found in contempt of court, a move that signals a possible escalation of regulatory scrutiny of the high-profile acquisition.
Musk’s legal team called the threatened sanctions “drastic” and unfounded. They pointed out that Musk’s testimony had been rescheduled and argued that his failure to appear did not justify such a severe response.
The SEC investigation into Musk’s Twitter deal has been ongoing for some time. The agency is examining various aspects of the takeover process. The testimony, for which Musk did not appear, was part of this investigation, which now appears to be coming to a head with the threat of sanctions.
It remains to be seen what consequences this legal development will have for Musk or the operation of Twitter, which now operates under the name X.
Reuters contributed to this article.
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