US Authorities Investigating Elon Musk on Recent Twitter Takeover

Key Takeaways:

  • The US Authorities are enquiring into Elon Musk's latest Twitter deal
  • The foreign billions from foreign investments backing the deal are a worry for the Biden Adminsitration
  • Twitter's list of investors include a Saudi Prince, an a subsidiary of the Qatari Sovereign wealth fund
US Authorities Investigating Elon Musk on Recent Twitter Takeover

YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — Troubles for Elon Musk seem to be unending despite completing his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter.

According to a new report by the Washington Post, US Treasury Department officials are currently looking to see if they need to investigate Elon Musk. Of particular interest to authorities is the fact that Musk allegedly has strong ties with foreign investors and regimes.

The US authorities may probe the investments that the world’s richest man used to buy Twitter. If Musk used foreign funds, these foreign investors could have access to confidential information regarding Twitter. These will not only be limited to the company’s financial details but could include privileged information about its users.

The US Treasury Department may review Elon Musk's Twitter acquisition.
The US Treasury Department may review Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition.

As CoinChapter reported, the Tesla founder took over Twitter last week and fired its CEO Parag Agrawal and head of legal policy Vijaya Gadde. After Musk tried to escape from his initial plan to buy the company, the former CEO and his team took the billionaire to court to enforce the $44 billion acquisition. 

However, as the report suggests, the Treasury Department is only reviewing the deal’s details and may not conduct a full-fledged investigation. 

One of the politicians behind the Elon Musk fiasco is US Senator Chris Murphy. 

“Today I am requesting the Committee on Foreign Investment — which reviews acquisitions of U.S. businesses by foreign buyers — to conduct an investigation into the national security implications of Saudi Arabia’s purchase of Twitter,”  

he claimed on Twitter.

Recommended: Who is the new Twitter CEO? Uncertainty looms as Elon Musk era begins

Elon Musk’s Twitter deal a national security risk?

According to Wahington Post’s anonymous sources, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has also taken a keen interest in Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition deal. 

Last month, the social media giant’s lawyers had claimed in a legal filing that Musk was “under investigation by federal authorities for his conduct in connection with the acquisition of Twitter.”

In October, Bloomberg also alleged that White House officials were contemplating conducting national security reviews on Musk’s business deals. These include Musk’s acquisition of Starlink internet network and the Twitter deal.

However, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre later denied reports of the national security reviews by the White House. 

“I know there’s a lot of interest in this. We’ve heard those reportings. Those reportings are not true. The national security review, that is not true,”   

Pierre told reporters.

The list of Twitter investors allegedly includes a holding company belonging to Saudi Price Alwaleed Talal and a Qatari sovereign wealth fund subsidiary. 

Prince Talal, who serves as the Chairman of the Board of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), confirmed that his firm is a major investor on Twitter. According to Talal, KHC pumped $1.89 billion into the deal.

Saudi Prince Alwaleed Talal is a major investor in Twitter as US Authorities may investigate Elon Musk on his recent Twitter takeover.
Saudi Prince Alwaleed Talal is a major investor in Twitter.

Moreover, cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its Chinese owner Changpeng Zhao have also invested a whopping $500 million in Twitter equity.

Whether or not the Treasury Department will conduct a thorough investigation remains to be seen. However, his takeover of Twitter will continue to make headlines once he begins implementing major changes. 

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