The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accused Carl Icahn of concealing stock seizures worth billions of dollars. The legendary corporate looter subsequently agreed to a settlement of $2 million.
Icahn, 88, must pay a $500,000 fine and his firm must raise $1.5 million under two separate settlement agreements after he failed to disclose billions in Lombard loans without disclosing them to shareholders or federal regulators.
The agreements announced on Monday show that the 88-year-old investor pledged up to 65 percent of the shares of his publicly traded Icahn Enterprises LP (IEP) from 2018 to 2022.
In return, he was granted over $4.6 billion in personal Lombard loans from various lenders. A Lombard loan allows an investor to borrow money against the value of securities he already owns in order to obtain short-term financing.
The investigation was launched after a report by short seller Hindenburg Research caused shares in Icahn’s investment firm to plummet last year.
“We are pleased to put this matter behind us and will continue to focus on running the business for the benefit of shareholders,” Icahn was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.
Both settlement agreements state that Icahn and his investment vehicle IEP cooperated with the investigation and agreed to refrain from further violations.
But in the carefully worded statement, neither Icahn nor his company admit or deny the findings.
Icahn’s Sunny Isles Beach, Florida-based company holds various investments in energy, automotive, food packaging, real estate and other industries.
He is the majority shareholder of IEP with an 85% stake.
