Porsche Faces Frankfurt Investigation Over VW Trading In October 2008

Jan. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Frankfurt prosecutors are investigating claims that “responsible people” at Porsche SE may have manipulated the trading of Volkswagen AG shares.

The Frankfurt prosecutors opened the probe following a complaint by a Berlin lawyer, prosecutors’ spokeswoman Doris Moeller-Scheu said in an interview today. She didn’t identify the lawyer and added that her office will now await findings of an investigation started last year by Germany’s financial regulator BaFin.

“We have to open a file if we get such a complaint, but we will take further action only if BaFin’s findings indicate any wrongdoing may have taken place,” Moeller-Scheu said. No suspects have been named, she added.

Volkswagen, Europe’s largest carmaker, rose almost fourfold in Frankfurt trading at the end of October after Stuttgart-based Porsche announced that it had acquired options to increase its stake to 74.1 percent.

The announcement spurred short-sellers to buy from a shrinking pool of stock to close their positions. Short-selling occurs when investors borrow shares and then sell them on the hope that the price will fall.


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downtoearth - 1/28/2009 8:33:40 PM

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LOL :-)

Brembo - 1/28/2009 8:41:49 PM

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uh oh!

Kthorn - 1/29/2009 12:55:55 AM

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Hardly, The "short whores" are nothing but scum of the earth. Not that it's a common practice or anything, but for companies to target these turds from time to time is good for business, it forces them to actually go into the market place to buy stocks to cover their asses. And it figures there's an attorney in the middle of all this, probably thought he could make a killing shorting a little Vdub stock. Don't gamble what you can't afford to lose.

_43LE - 1/29/2009 9:19:49 AM

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So why didn't Turbospyder post this? I wonder why...