Two months ago, Fairfax Financial (FFH/NYSE) created a stir by filing a US$6-billion lawsuit against several major U.S. hedge funds and a pair of their “shadowy operatives,” alleging they intimidated executives, orchestrated negative analyst reports, and even harassed Prem Watsa's pastor in an effort to take down the company.
Tuesday, one of these "operatives," Spyro Contogouris, added another layer of intrigue to what is already a strange case: In a statement released through his lawyer, he claims he was working on a special assignment for the FBI.
This from an article in the Globe and Mail:
“Without commenting on any specifics, I can confirm that Spyro Contogouris took certain actions with respect to Fairfax arranged by and at the request of the FBI,” Richard Feldman said in an e-mailed statement. “The charges of Fairfax against Contogouris are without merit.” Mr. Contogouris could not be reached for comment. An FBI spokeswoman did not return calls seeking comment.
I'd be keeping an eye on this story even if I wasn't a Fairfax shareholder.
Prem Watsa doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd go around filing frivolous lawsuits. But that's just my opinion formed at a very long distance.
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