SEC Charges Senior Executive of Brazilian Company with Fraud

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Fernando Passos, the former executive vice president of finance and investor relations of Brazilian reinsurance company IRB Brasil Resseguros S.A., for allegedly planting a false story with the media and disseminating false documents claiming that Berkshire Hathaway Inc. had recently made a substantial investment in IRB. According to the SEC’s complaint, filed on April 18, 2022, Passos, concerned about the significant decline in IRB’s stock price following a short seller’s report questioning IRB’s financial results, fabricated and then spread a story in February 2020 that Berkshire Hathaway Inc. had recently invested in IRB. The complaint further alleges that Passos created and shared with others a fake shareholder list that showed Berkshire had made substantial purchases of IRB stock.