U.S. President Donald Trump’s media company, Trump Media & Technology Group, urged federal regulators on Thursday to investigate trading activity linked to its struggling stock.
In a public letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda, the company behind Truth Social alleged that UK-based firm Qube may have engaged in “illegal short selling of DJT shares.”
Qube did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.
TMTG alleged that Qube disclosed in Germany on April 10 a short position of six million shares, worth $105 million, without informing regulators in its own jurisdictions about the position. Trump Media also alleged that Qube’s position has since nearly doubled to 11 million shares, citing third-party sources.
“We urge you to immediately investigate this suspicious trading and report your findings back to TMTG and any relevant civil and criminal authorities,” a Trump Media representative said in the letter.
The allegations come as Trump Media’s shares plummet following the firm’s struggles against a slew of legal and financial challenges—including an investigation into whether its social media platform Truth Social facilitated money laundering and boasted ties to Russian actors.
TMTG closed last year with less than $4 million in revenue and operating losses of $400 million, according to its financial disclosures. TMTG shares finished the day trading at $22.04, down 35% from the beginning of this year.
The letter also comes as Trump Media ramps up its dealmaking with various crypto industry players, including an exclusive partnership with Crypto.com for a series of not-yet-launched ETFs.
The call for the SEC to investigate Qube marks the latest instance of a Trump-owned company mounting a legal or regulatory challenge against an entity. In January, the company sued a Brazilian Supreme Court judge, saying that he had broken U.S. free-speech protections when he sought to shutter the accounts of a right wing supporter of the country’s former President Jair Bolsonaro.
In 2023, TMTG sued 20 media organizations for defamation in an action that is ongoing.
Edited by James Rubin
Daily Debrief Newsletter
Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
