The United States Court approved, this Wednesday (8), the agreement between Elon Musk and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the delayed disclosure of the purchase of Twitter shares (currently X), ending the civil dispute involving the billionaire and the American financial market regulator. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan of Washington, D.C., said her role in evaluating the settlement - to see if it met minimum standards of fairness and reasonableness - was limited, and it was up to the public to decide, at the polls, whether the SEC acted sufficiently to hold Musk accountable. ?The SEC is the United States federal agency responsible for overseeing the capital market, protecting investors and ensuring that companies and market participants comply with transparency rules. Under the agreement, a fund linked to Musk will pay a civil fine of US$1.5 million. The businessman did not admit wrongdoing and will not have to return the approximately US$150 million that the SEC claimed he saved by purchasing Twitter shares before his participation was disclosed. Understand the legal context of the case In the United States, investors who acquire a relevant stake in a publicly traded company must inform the market within a specified period. The rule is set out in Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which requires investors who exceed the 5% stake in a company to disclose that position to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) through a form called Schedule 13D. The objective of the rule is to guarantee transparency and prevent investors from trading shares without the market being aware of movements capable of influencing the price of the shares. In the case of Elon Musk, the SEC claimed that he should have reported his participation in Twitter after exceeding the limit of 5% of the company's shares in March 2022, but only made the disclosure 11 days later. According to the regulator, during this period Musk continued to buy shares at prices that could have been below market value if investors had known about his position. Musk disputed the accusation and stated that the delay was involuntary. Under the agreement approved by the Court, he will pay US$1.5 million in civil fines, without admitting irregularities and without having to return the amounts that the SEC claimed were obtained through the delay in disclosure. *Report being updated