Three news to start your week: July 29
SEC Charges Andrew Left and Citron Capital for a $20 Million Fraud Scheme
(SEC)
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against activist short seller Andrew Left and his firm, Citron Capital LLC. The charges involve a $20 million multi-year scheme to deceive followers with false and misleading statements about stock trading recommendations.
According to the SEC's complaint, Left utilized the Citron Research website and related social media platforms to publicly recommend long or short positions in 23 companies on at least 26 occasions. These recommendations were presented as being aligned with his own and Citron Capital's positions. The complaint further alleges that following these recommendations, the price of the target stocks moved more than 12 percent on average.
The SEC's complaint asserts that after issuing the recommendations and observing stock movements, Left and Citron Capital swiftly reversed their positions to profit from the stock price fluctuations. This meant that Left repurchased stock immediately after advising his readers to sell and sold stock immediately after advising his readers to buy.
Meta warns EU regulatory efforts risk bloc missing out on AI advances
(Financial Times)
Meta has issued a warning that the EU's current approach to regulating artificial intelligence could isolate the continent from cutting-edge services. This comes as part of the EU's ongoing efforts to rein in the dominance of Big Tech companies.
Rob Sherman, Meta's deputy privacy officer and vice president of policy, confirmed that the EU's privacy watchdog had asked the company to voluntarily pause training its future AI models on data in the region.
Although Meta is complying with the request, Sherman emphasized that such actions create a technology gap between Europe and the rest of the world. He expressed concerns that this could potentially impact the availability of future, more advanced AI releases in Europe.
Entire anti-corruption board fired for alleged Zambia corruption
(BBC)
Zambia's President, Hakainde Hichilema, dismissed the entire country's anti-corruption body board, following allegations of corruption leveled against them. This action follows the recent resignation of the head of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Thom Shamakamba. The allegations also extend to the country's solicitor-general, Marshal Muchende, with both men vehemently denying the accusations of receiving kickbacks.
Since assuming power three years ago, President Hichilema's administration has diligently investigated officials from the previous government implicated in corrupt activities. The latest claims suggest that ACC officials have been accepting payments from politicians under investigation in exchange for leniency.
