Mormon Church fined; The Mormon Church, formally known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). Its investment firm are paying $5m (£4.1m) over claims they hid huge stocks.
LDS and its investment firm, Ensign Peak Advisers, used “shell” companies to hide a $32 billion stock portfolio. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said.
Ensign Peak will pay $4 million in fines and the church will pay $1 million.
None of them confessed their crime.
“We allege that the LDS Church’s investment manager, with the Church’s knowledge. Made every effort to prevent disclosure of the Church’s investments, deprive the commission. Invest the public of accurate market information. Said Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. says in a statement.
According to the Financial Markets Watchdog, Church. Ensign Peak used front companies to hide growing investments in the stock, which totaled more than $30 billion in 2018. Out of concern that it could lead to negative publicity.
The SEC filing provided a rare glimpse into how Ensign Peak tried to hide a significant portion of the Mormon Church’s investments.
The Salt Lake City consulting firm, founded by LDS in 1997, has created 13 shell companies across the United States, the regulator said.
Mormon Church fined; Between 1997 and 2019, the shell companies replacing Ensign Peak filed quarterly investment statements with the SEC, he added.
A shell company is an entity that does not engage in active business activities. These types of companies can be use to disguise business ownership from regulators or the public.
The church has more than 16 million members in more than 30,000 congregations in 160 countries.
Ensign Peak is believe to manage at least $100 billion in total on behalf of the Mormon Church.
