Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says he'll sell off all his stock after a slew of ethics questions
US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said he would sell all of his remaining equity holdings and buy US Treasuries after receiving a letter on Thursday from the federal ethics agency criticizing his asset reporting.
"To maintain the public trust, I have directed that all of my equity holdings be sold and the proceeds placed in US Treasury securities," Ross said in a statement.
Ross's holdings were under scrutiny when in June, he was reported to have shorted a shipping firm's stock days after The New York Times contacted him about the firm's links to Russia.
At one point, Russian President Vladimir Putin's son-in-law Kirill Shamalov reportedly owned as much as 20% in the firm, Navigator Holdings.
Ross's sale was worth between $100,000 and $250,000, according to The New York Times.
(Reporting by Eric Walsh; Editing by Toni Reinhold)