{"text":[[{"start":10.15,"text":"Elon Musk’s trust has agreed to pay $1.5mn to settle a case in which the US Securities and Exchange Commission accused him of failing to properly disclose stakes in Twitter, a fraction of the sum it claimed the billionaire gained by breaching regulations. "}],[{"start":26.85,"text":"The SEC and the Elon Musk Revocable Trust asked a federal judge in a joint filing on Monday to accept the deal, after which the agency said it would file a dismissal of Musk that would “entirely” resolve the case. The regulator initially alleged the billionaire wrongfully profited by at least $150mn."}],[{"start":46.150000000000006,"text":"Musk’s proposed settlement comes after the SEC showed leniency towards several figures and businesses with ties to the Trump administration, notably dismissing cases against crypto exchanges Coinbase and Kraken, both of which have donated to the president."}],[{"start":61.650000000000006,"text":"Margaret Ryan, the SEC’s enforcement director, resigned in March, days after Musk’s lawyers told the court that settlement discussions had been under way for some time but that the agency’s enforcement lawyers had not been “fully read in”."}],[{"start":74.30000000000001,"text":"The deal filed on Monday was made possible by an unusual procedural step earlier in the day, when the SEC amended its complaint to add the trust, through which Musk bought his Twitter shares in 2022, as a defendant. "}],[{"start":88.25000000000001,"text":"As part of the proposed deal, the trust does not need to acknowledge any wrongdoing, and Musk faces no personal penalties."}],[{"start":95.65000000000002,"text":"“They wanted $200mn. Elon refused to settle. And they have dismissed the case against him,” Alex Spiro, a lawyer for Musk, told the FT. "}],[{"start":105.10000000000002,"text":"“Elon won, and a trust entity took a small fine, without admitting anything, for being some days late on a filing. Case closed,” he added."}],[{"start":114.10000000000002,"text":"Musk was the largest donor to Donald Trump’s 2024 election campaign and has rebuilt ties with the White House this year after a public spat."}],[{"start":123.35000000000002,"text":"The SEC sued the tech entrepreneur in January last year, days before Trump returned to the White House, alleging he had waited 11 days too long to disclose his ownership stake in Twitter."}],[{"start":134.45000000000002,"text":"The regulator said the delay allowed Musk to buy more than $500mn of additional shares at artificially low prices, underpaying sellers by at least $150mn."}],[{"start":145.9,"text":"On the day Musk’s stake was reported, Twitter shares rose more than 27 per cent, the SEC alleged at the time. He ultimately purchased Twitter, since renamed X, for $44bn in October 2022."}],[{"start":161.20000000000002,"text":"Musk had cast the case as politically motivated retaliation for his criticism of the agency, which he once called the “Shortseller Enrichment Commission”, and challenged the disclosure rules. "}],[{"start":172.75000000000003,"text":"A judge rejected the billionaire’s motion to dismiss in February. Musk still faces a parallel shareholder suit in New York and recently concluded a separate Twitter-related trial in San Francisco."}],[{"start":192.85000000000002,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1777943394_2433.mp3"}