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Amrita Ahuja, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Block, has found herself in the spotlight after being named in a report by short-selling firm Hindenburg Research.
The report, released on Wednesday, alleged that Block, a cryptocurrency company, had misled investors by claiming to have a partnership with a major carmaker that did not actually exist. According to the report, Ahuja was involved in promoting this partnership and was therefore complicit in the deception.
Ahuja has denied the allegations, stating that Block did indeed have a partnership with the carmaker in question, although she did not name the company. She also accused Hindenburg of spreading misinformation and said that Block was considering legal action against the firm.
Block is a San Francisco-based company that operates a platform for trading cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum. Ahuja joined the company as CFO in 2018, after working for over a decade at video game company Activision Blizzard.
The Hindenburg report caused a drop in Block’s share price, which fell by over 20% in the hours after the report was released. The report also accused Block of engaging in other fraudulent activities, such as inflating the value of its assets and using fake social media accounts to promote its products.
Block has not yet issued a statement responding to the report’s other allegations, but the company’s CEO, Adam Traidman, has defended the company’s operations in the past, saying that it follows “best practices” and is committed to transparency and accountability.
The Hindenburg report is the latest in a series of high-profile attacks on cryptocurrency companies by short-sellers and other critics. While some of these reports have been criticized for being overly negative or biased, they have also highlighted the need for greater scrutiny of the rapidly-evolving and sometimes opaque world of cryptocurrencies.