Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, sold over $500,000 worth of Visa stock weeks before the U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against the credit card company. The sale raised concerns due to its timing and previous financial scrutiny on the Pelosi family.
According to public records, Pelosi sold 2,000 shares of Visa stock in early July, with the value estimated between $500,000 and $1 million. The timing of the sale coincides with the DOJ’s lawsuit, which accuses Visa of monopolizing the debit card market by offering incentives to financial technology companies such as PayPal, Stripe, and Square.
The sale was initially flagged by the online watchdog “Nancy Pelosi Stock Tracker.”
This is not the first time the Pelosi family’s financial activities have been scrutinized. Critics have raised concerns about potential access to private information due to Nancy Pelosi’s influential role in Washington.
A spokesperson for the former speaker responded, stating: “Speaker Pelosi does not own any stocks, and she has no prior knowledge or subsequent involvement in any transactions.”
Visa’s shares fell 5.5% following news of the lawsuit. The company has stated it will cooperate fully with the investigation and maintains that its business practices comply with U.S. laws.