Apollo Global Management, Carlyle Group and KKR & Co said in regulatory filings this week that they received letters from the Securities and Exchange Commission on their use of electronic messaging for business.
The use of WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram and other chat apps has become prevalent since the pandemic forced traders and dealmakers to work from home. Many of these apps have functions to make messages automatically disappear, and financial-firm employee use of the apps represents potential violations of SEC regulations.to dozens of investment firms in recent weeks as part of the probe.
Carlyle in a filing said that it received a request for information from the SEC “related to the preservation of certain types of electronic business communications” that could include “text messages and messages on WhatsApp, WeChat and similar applications.” The firm said it intends to cooperate fully with the inquiry.