Elon Musk is under a federal investigation into his $44 billion takeover of Twitter.
The news came from a court filing published Thursday on the latest developments regarding the ongoing legal disputes between the American billionaire and the social network.
According to the judicial file, Musk is under investigation, but he did not explain exactly what is being investigated.
“This ‘hide the ball’ game must end,” the network’s owner said in the filing.
Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Twitter Inc, which sued Musk in July to force him to terminate the deal, said lawyers for the Tesla CEO asked for an “exemption from the investigation” when they refused to hand over documents the company wanted.
She also said she had asked Musk’s lawyers to provide their communications with the federal authorities months in advance, but they had not.
In late September, Musk’s lawyers submitted a “record of privileges” to determine which documents should be withheld.
The registry cited drafts of a May 13 email to the US Securities and Exchange Commission – the US regulator that enforces anti-market-manipulation law.
She also referred to a position presentation she made to the Federal Trade Commission – whose main task is to advance antitrust law and consumer protection.
The court order was filed on the same day the court decided to stop the litigation to allow Twitter and Musk to conclude the acquisition.
Questions regarding the deal
The SEC questioned Musk’s comments regarding the Twitter acquisition.
In April, the SEC asked him if the disclosure of his 9 percent stake in Twitter was too late, and why he indicated he intended to be a passive contributor. Musk later rediscovered the disclosure to indicate he was an active investor.
In June, the SEC asked Musk in a letter whether he should amend his public file to reflect his intent to suspend or abandon the deal.
Alex Spiro, Musk’s attorney, told Archyde.com news agency that Twitter’s request to the court was “misleading.”
“It’s the Twitter executives who are the subject of a federal investigation,” he said.
Twitter declined to comment on the statement.
This comes at a time when the issue of Musk’s proposed acquisition of Twitter has been going on for months, during which the American billionaire announced his desire to acquire the company, before he backtracked, and then Twitter filed a lawsuit once morest him demanding that he abide by his word.
Then the American billionaire said he would go ahead with the deal, just days before the two parties are scheduled to appear in court.
