The former chief executive officer of both Bakkt and the New York Stock Exchange’s parent company Intercontinental, U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler, has handed over documentation concerning her trading activities to the U.S. Justice Department, or DoJ, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Senate Ethics Committee.
Loeffler is seeking to quell widespread accusations of improper trading, after the third party managing Loeffler and her partner’s portfolio offloaded millions in shares shortly after the senator attended a closed-door senate hearing on coronavirus in January.
In a statement issued on May 14, Loeffler claimed that the documents evidence that both her and her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher, chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, “acted entirely appropriately and observed both the letter and the spirit of the law.”
Senator Loeffler relinquishes trading documents
Since operating Intercontinental Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange, decisions surrounding Loeffler and Sprecher’s portfolios have purportedly been made by “multiple third-party advisors” without input from either individual.
“The documents and information demonstrated her and her husband’s lack of involvement in their managed accounts, as well the details of those accounts,” Loeffler’s statement said.
The accusations stem from 27 stock sales that were executed on Loeffler and Sprecher’s behalf during February — a period through which Loeffler consistently expressed confidence in the U.S. economy, despite her enormous sell-off amid the worsening coronavirus pandemic.
The pair also made a number of six-figure investments into Citrix — a firm selling technological solutions for distributed workplaces.
Richard Burr under FBI investigation for improper trading
The move follows reports detailing a probe launched by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI, into republican senator, Richard Burr, regarding stock trades that he made following the same hearing. Senator Burr has handed his phone to investigators and was served a search warrant at his address.
Loeffler has repeatedly declined to answer questions regarding whether she has been contacted by the FBI regarding her or her husband’s trades.
The FBI has also contacted democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein concerning stock transactions made by her husband.