Bill Gates fined $800,000 for breaching civil law

The law in question is the Hart-Scott-Rodino Pre-Merger Notification Act.

Mr Gates, said the FTC, bought voting securities of Republic Services and the ICOS Corporation. He then, a little later, bought extra shares of Republic but he, or his advisors, failed to register the further buy, on the grounds that he was exempt from reporting requirements.

Two weeks after, he or his advisors realised a filing was needed and a corrected one was delivered.

The FTC wrote Mr Gates and told him no action was going to be taken, however, according to the FTC, a similar event happened on March 9th 2002, when he bought shares in ICOS that exceeded the exempt limit.

This time round, the powers-that-be referred the complaint to the US Department of Justice (DoJ), and it sought "substantial penalties" for the second error.

He could have been fined much more, but was ticked off by Barry Nigro, from the FTC, who told Mr Gates to go back and "learn all about the law". Patronising of Barry, a little, unless he was exercising a sense of irony often not found in functionaries.

Bill Gates has accepted the penalty and the maximum penalty was reduced because he cooperated with the authorities, claimed the FTC. µ

L'INQ
FTC statement