US judge approves Musk’s $1.5 million SEC settlement over Twitter stake
What’s new: The judge flagged “red flags” and questioned why regulators dropped a bid to recover gains the SEC pegged at $150 million.
A federal judge in Washington approved Elon Musk’s settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over his delayed disclosure of Twitter share purchases, while sharply questioning the deal’s terms. US District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan said the court’s role was limited to assessing whether the agreement met basic standards of fairness and reasonableness. The settlement requires a trust in Musk’s name to pay $1.5 million to resolve claims that he waited 11 days in March and April 2022 to disclose early Twitter stock purchases. The SEC alleged the delay let Musk save $150 million before other investors learned of his stake. Sooknanan wrote that the accord raised significant misgivings and asked why the SEC dropped its push to recover gains for affected investors.