ExxonMobil and New York’s attorney general are headed for a showdown this week over accusations the company deceived investors, a rare trial over how the oil industry accounts for the impact of climate change.
As The Wall Street Journal reports, the trial, which begins Tuesday, is the culmination of a sprawling investigation into ExxonMobil and its accounting practices that spanned four years. It is expected to include as a witness former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was ExxonMobil’s chief executive from 2006 to 2016.
The attorney general’s office said the company told investors that it was taking into account the future costs of regulations it expected governments to adopt in response to climate change. But ExxonMobil’s internal calculations didn’t match its public representations, the office said.
The attorney general’s office said the company’s misrepresentations caused investors to overvalue its stock. It estimated the damage to shareholders to be between $476 million and $1.6 billion.
ExxonMobil has denied wrongdoing and said a reasonable investor wouldn’t expect to know such internal details. Read the full story.
