LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s financial markets regulator said it is making “wide-ranging enquiries” into the circumstances surrounding a short-selling report on litigation finance company Burford Capital (BURF.L) by U.S. activist Muddy Waters. On Monday, Burford issued a statement to the stock exchange saying it had found evidence of suspect trading patterns last week, around the time Muddy Waters issued its report challenging the company’s accounts. In response, a spokeswoman for the Financial Conduct Authority said it had been “aware of these matters since the first tweet and price movements on Tuesday of last week and at that point we began undertaking wide-ranging enquiries. Burford’s shares fell 19% on August 6, the day short-seller Muddy Waters tweeted about a forthcoming short attack against an unidentified company, and dived a further 46% on August 7, when Muddy Waters released a report criticising Burford’s accounts and management. “We will continue to make enquiries using the wide range of data and resources at our disposal,” the FCA added. Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Rachel Armstrong
The UK 's Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA ) is making enquiries into a short - selling report written by US activist , Muddy Waters concerning litigation financier Burford Capital . On 6 August , Muddy Waters announced over Twitter an upcoming short attack on an undisclosed company . Burford 's shares fell 46 % the day of the tweet . Muddy Waters then released a report on 7 August critiquing the litigation backed company 's accounts and management . Burford 's stock fell a further 46 % . Burford 's management has issued a statement saying it has found evidence of suspect trading activity around the time of Muddy Waters ' note .