Post-SPAC Music Streaming Company Reaches $38.8 Million Settlement in Ongoing Fraud Action

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced a $38.8 million settlement of charges against Akazoo S.A., a purported music streaming business based in Greece, for allegedly defrauding investors out of tens of millions of dollars in connection with a 2019 special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) business combination. Akazoo's assets were previously frozen as the result of an emergency action filed by the SEC in September 2020. According to the SEC's complaint, Akazoo represented to investors that it was a rapidly growing music streaming company focused on emerging markets with more than 38.2 million registered users, 4.6 million paying subscribers, and over $120 million in annual revenue. In actuality, the complaint alleged that the company had no paying users and, at most, negligible revenue.