KUWAIT CITY (Al Arabiya, Reuters)
The head of Kuwait's al-Raya Investment Co. Hazem Khalid al-Braikan shot himself Sunday after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued him and several other entities over suspicious stock trades, according to local media.
" The board ... confirms the correctness of these dealings made by the CEO on behalf of the company " Al-Raya statement Kuwaiti media reorted that security sources confirmed the 30-year-old financier's death just a day after his company denied the violations cited by the SEC.
Police were at Braikan's house in the Kuwait City district of al-Rawda where an officer told Reuters that Braikan's brother had called for help. The policeman said the financier had shot himself. |
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Company denied SEC charges "The board of directors of Al-Raya Investment Company has reviewed all pending issues related to the civil lawsuit against it, its chief executive and other companies by the SEC," al-Raya said Saturday in a statement obtained by Reuters.
"The board ... confirms the correctness of these dealings made by the CEO on behalf of the company," added the company, which is 10 percent owned by Citigroup Inc.
Braikan had said in a separate statement that he had named a U.S. attorney for the case, but could not be reached for comment when Reuters called Saturday.
On Thursday, the SEC sued Braikan and entities linked to him, saying they earned millions from trades after "fraudulent" takeover reports sent the shares of U.S. firms Harman International Industries and Textron soaring.
The SEC filing alleged that they publicized a hoax about a Middle Eastern investment firm's "purported tender offer" on July 19, and that "Harman's share price climbed more than 40 percent in pre-market trading on Monday, July 20."
Al-Raya denied having links to any leaked information to the media and voiced confidence in its legal situation and its CEO.
Other defendants in the SEC suit include Bahrain-based investment bank United Gulf Bank and Kuwaiti fund manager KIPCO Asset Management Co. (KAMCO). Both are part of the Kuwait Projects Co. (KIPCO) group, a major holding company affiliated with senior members of Kuwait's ruling al-Sabah family.
On Friday, KAMCO and United Gulf Bank said they made no gain from trading in the shares of Harman and Textron.
The SEC won an emergency court order on Thursday freezing the trading profits in various U.S. accounts. In a memorandum filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Friday, the SEC said some of the defendants had asked for funds from the purported illegal trades to be transferred. |
