Short seller reports on the rise, flexible crisis plan critical: William J Stellmach
William J. Stellmach, former head of the US Department of Justice's Fraud Section who now works at New York-headquartered law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.
He is a partner at the firm's Washington office and leads its global investigations practice, often advising and defending companies featured in short seller reports.
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Offering CollegeCourseWebsiteIndian School of BusinessISB Chief Digital OfficerVisitIndian School of BusinessISB Chief Technology OfficerVisitUniversity of Western AustraliaUWA Global MBAVisit«The number of short seller reports is growing. If you are an SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registrant and issuing securities to investors in the US, then you are an attractive target. So having a flexible crisis management plan is critical,» Stellmach told ET in an exclusive interview.
Stellmach was the prosecutor on the trial of fraudster Allen Stanford in the US which led to an unprecedented 110-year prison sentence for him for perpetrating an $8 billion investment fraud in 2012.
He said it was extremely challenging to sue short sellers in the US and often counterproductive. «Short sellers have repeatedly defeated defamation suits in the USA, which set an extremely high bar. Another liability theory is to prove fraud by the short seller. But short sellers are generally very transparent in their disclaimers that they may have taken a trading position consistent with their short report, which means they fully disclose their conflict
