Newly elected US Senator Kelly Loeffler is liquidating all of her holdings – a move that came weeks after news of stock sales by the former CEO of ICE-backed crypto startup Bakkt sparked widespread criticism and calls for investigations.
Loeffler announced the news on her Twitter account and within a recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece.
My husband & I are liquidating our holdings in managed accounts. I’m not doing this because I have to. I'm doing it to move beyond the distraction and put the focus back on the essential work we must all do to defeat the Coronavirus . https://t.co/pdagq4E6Uf #gapol #gasen
— Kelly Loeffler (@KLoeffler) April 8, 2020
" I am taking action to move beyond the distraction and put the focus back on the essential work we must all do to defeat the coronavirus. Although Senate ethics rules don't require it, my husband and I are liquidating our holdings in managed accounts and moving into exchange-traded funds and mutual funds. I will report these exiting transactions in the periodic transaction report I file later this month," she added.
Loeffler and her husband Jeffrey Sprecher, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange , allegedly dumped all their equities after a private meeting about the likely consequences of the coronavirus pandemic on January 24. Loeffler sold off $3.1 million of her holdings before the massive plunge in late February and March. However, it is illegal for senators to trade based on non-public information gathered during their official duties.
Ex-Bakkt CEO turned Republican Senator called all these accusations as a 'ridiculous and baseless attack', adding that she relied solely on publicly available news reports. Loeffler also said her portfolio is managed by third-party financial advisors, and she wasn't involved in the decision-making process. Moreover, she was informed about these transactions three weeks after they were done.
Loeffler officially left Bakkt and ICE on December 31, ending a 16-year tenure. She led Bakkt, owned by the New York Stock Exchange owner, since its inception in 2018 until it created a crypto unicorn that recently the first regulated physically-settled Bitcoin futures.
Loeffler replaced Johnny Isakson, a Republican senator who is experiencing health problems, in anticipation of a primary election to fill the Senate seat later this year. As such, the wealthy business executive would serve until then, allowing her to run for the final two years as an incumbent.
