A media firm linked to Steve Bannon and exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui was among companies that agreed to pay more than $539 million to settle a U.S. regulator's claims that the businesses illegally sold shares.
GTV Media Group Inc., which has ties to Bannon and Guo, sold shares between April and and June 2020 without registering the offering, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said in a Monday statement. The SEC also accused Saraca Media Group Inc. and Voice of Guo Media Inc. of participating in the misconduct.
The companies separately conducted an unregistered sale of a digital asset security referred to as either G-Coins or G-Dollars, the SEC said. The two offerings raised approximately $487 million from more than 5,000 investors, including U.S. residents. Neither Bannon nor Guo were named in the SEC case, and the companies didn't admit or deny wrongdoing.
"Issuers seeking to access the markets through a public securities offering must provide investors with the disclosures required under the federal securities laws," said Sanjay Wadhwa, deputy director of the SEC's enforcement division.
GTV and Saraca agreed to pay disgorgement and interest of about $450 million and each will pay a civil penalty of $15 million. Voice of Guo agreed to pay disgorgement and interest of about $54 million and a $5 million fine.
