Shares of Freedom Holdings Timur Turlov fell more than 8% on the Nasdaq premarket after the American research Hindenburg Research dedicated its new investigation to it. Hindenburg Research accuses Freedom Holdings of “brazen sanctions evasion”, as well as falsifying revenue, risking customer funds and manipulating the market
Shares of investment company Freedom Holdings fell more than 8% in Nasdaq premarket trading after Hindenburg Research dedicated her new investigation.
At 16:10 Moscow time, shares of Freedom Holdings are trading at $70.4, they fell by 7.01% compared to yesterday’s close.
IN investigationpublished on Tuesday, Hindenburg Research accuses Freedom Holdings of “brazen sanctions evasion” as well as falsifying revenues, risking customer funds and manipulating the market.
In particular, the investigation says that after the start of the “military special operation” in Ukraine, Freedom immediately sold Russian business to its employee for $140 million in order not to be subject to restrictive measures. However, according to the investigator, citing the former manager of the company, control over the assets still belongs to the founder of Freedom, Timur Turlov.
Despite the “seeming loss” of both key markets, the company posted fast, uninterrupted revenue growth. This happened, according to her statement, thanks to business in Kazakhstan, a country with a population of about 19 million people and a GDP of $10,373 per capita, the investigator points out.
Hindenburg Research notes that in early August, Freedom itself openly admitted to its annual report that it “provides brokerage services to certain individuals and companies that are under sanctions from the US Treasury, the EU and the United Kingdom.”
According to Hindenburg Research, the company helped withdraw funds from sanctioned banks in Kazakhstan and Russia, including Alfa-Bank, VTB and Tinkoff Bank.
In addition to evading sanctions, “Freedom appears to be involved in a range of corporate abuses” involving a Belize-based company owned by its management, the investigation notes. Hindenburg Research said it had been investigating for over a year, including interviewing former employees of the company and market analysts.
At Freedom Holdings called investigation of Hindenburg Research by speculation and “a set of unconfirmed facts”, this is stated in the response of the press service of Freedom Finance Global to a request from Forbes.
Freedom Holdings reported this February that closed a deal to sell Russian assets. Freedom made the decision to sell the Russian part of the business in 2022. In mid-February, the Central Bank approved the deal. Turlov, quoted in the press release, said that Freedom Holding thought it “would be better for him to give up” Russian businesses, since the businessman himself had renounced Russian citizenship.
Timur Turlov in 2022 has entered in the Forbes list of Russian billionaires with an estimated fortune of $ 2.4 billion. Last summer became knownthat he refused a Russian passport – now he is a citizen of Kazakhstan.