Kazakh fintech Freedom Holding is being investigated by DOJ, SEC, documents show
Summary
Freedom Holding , a Nasdaq-traded Kazakh financial firm thats been the target of prominent short sellers, is being investigated by federal prosecutors and Securities and Exchange Commission counsel over compliance issues, insider stock moves, and an offshore affiliate tied to sanctioned individuals, CNBC has learned. The overlapping SEC and DOJ probes are scrutinizing the firms internal controls and offshore operations, as well as Turlovs claims that Freedom can get its largely Russian client base access to hot U.S. IPOs, according to the documents and sources. The SEC intensified its scrutiny after the Hindenburg report and an analysis published in April by short seller Citron Research, sources familiar with the matter told CNBC. FST Belize holds Kazakh licenses that let it operate a securities trading platform and process international payments and money transfers, according to the company. Hindenburg alleged that Freedom and Turlov protected the companys stock from wild swings by ensuring that clients held the shares in their brokerage accounts, reducing the risk of volatility.