Nikesh Arora in sights of US market regulator

TOKYO: The US market regulator is examining Japanese mobile giant SoftBank over misconduct allegations lodged against its former president Nikesh Arora, who quit

TOKYO: The US market regulator is examining Japanese mobile giant SoftBank over misconduct allegations lodged against its former president Nikesh Arora, who quit last week, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking to find out whether Arora had conflicts of interest or engaged in questionable behaviour, the report said, citing unnamed sources.

The watchdog was also eyeing SoftBank’s disclosures to investors, it said, adding that the inquiry was a preliminary step and does not guarantee further action against SoftBank or Arora.

“Soft Bank Group does not comment on press reports of (US) regulatory inquiries ,” the company said in response to the report. India-born Arora, once SoftBank boss Masayoshi Son’s heir apparent, stepped down last week.

Son told shareholders he had changed his mind about the timeline for stepping down.

Both men said it was an amicable split, and Arora would stay on as SoftBank adviser.

But his resignation came as SoftBank said an independent group of board members had cleared Arora of misconduct allegations lodged by an investor group. The shareholders were calling for Arora’s ouster over potential conflicts of interest tied to his role at a private equity firm.