News Corp. (NWSA) No Records Found on Appeal. Three times since 05-Dec-2012, the SEC cited the "law enforcement exemption" of the FOIA as basis to deny the public access to the detailed records we sought on this company.  As a matter of law, they were acknowledging some sort of investigative activity.  In a letter dated 16-May-2014, the SEC then confirmed investigative activity.  At the time of the SEC’s earlier response to us, we found no clear disclosures of SEC investigative activity made by News Corp. 

Later, in response to a new request, in a letter dated 20-Nov-2014 the SEC again cited the law enforcement exemption of the FOIA to deny the public access to investigative records on this company.

We filed an administrative appeal to challenge this denial. An appeal response, regardless of outcome, is the highest standard we can achieve regarding SEC investigative activity at a public company.  In our experience, about two-thirds of the SEC’s law enforcement exemption responses are confirmed on appeal.  This is not one of them.

In a letter dated 16-Dec-2014, in response to our appeal, the SEC has now informed us there are no records responsive to our request.  While the SEC’s letter was not specific, we were told this could mean --

• There was an investigation that concluded in the past but the SEC’s records were not current at the time of our request
   
• Alternatively, there may be an investigation involving not the company, but some other person or entity in which the company was incidentally named or tangentially listed.

Worth noting:  The FCPA Blog has been listing News Corp as having an FCPA probe since at least spring 2014.  Their report dated Jan-2015 still shows News Corp as having this exposure.  Based on our latest response from the SEC, that exposure may now be ended. 

Based on new information presented here we are removing News Corp. from our Watch List.

To learn more on our process and what our findings mean, click here.

Notes: The SEC did not disclose the details on investigations referenced above. The SEC reminds us that its assertion of the law enforcement exemption should not be construed as an indication by the Commission or its staff that any violations of law have occurred with respect to any person, entity, or security.  New SEC investigative activity could theoretically begin or end after the date covered by this latest information which would not be reflected here.

The Probes Reporter™ Watch List tracks those companies involved in undisclosed SEC investigative activity.  Names are added to and removed from this list frequently based on responses we receive to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests we file with the SEC.  This is our latest update.