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MicroStrategy, SEC settle
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December 14, 2000: 3:22 p.m. ET
Business-software company executives fined, co. admits no wrongdoing
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Business-software provider MicroStrategy Inc. announced Thursday a settlement in connection to a probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission into the company's March 2000 financial restatement.
MicroStrategy Chief Executive Officer Michael Saylor, Chief Operating Officer Sanju Bansal, and former chief financial officer Mark Lynch each will pay a $350,000 fine as part of their consent decrees with the SEC.
MicroStrategy said the SEC probe ended without the company admitting or denying wrongdoing, and that the SEC did not charge financial penalties against the company itself.
 The government agency launched an investigation into the Vienna, Va.-based company in April, after an earnings restatement caused its stock to plunge. On March 20, MicroStrategy said it would restate its operating results for the past two years to comply with new federal accounting guidelines on reporting revenue, fueling a stock drop of 62 percent.
"I am pleased that this agreement fully concludes the Commission's inquiry," said MicroStrategy Chairman and CEO Michael Saylor. "We have worked hard to put in place numerous organizational and business measures to safeguard the integrity of our finances, and now we can turn with renewed energy and dedication to the marketplace."
MicroStrategy also said that it agreed to a remedial administrative order that includes a commitment to contracting and accounting procedures and, as earlier announced, will also add a new, independent director with finance expertise to the audit committee of its board of directors.
The company said the SEC settlement, in combination with previously announced agreements, ends an outstanding class action and shareholder derivative lawsuits, which are still subject to court approval and other conditions.
In late Thursday trading, shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR: Research, Estimates) were up 56 cents a share, or almost 4 percent, to $15.19. 
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MicroStrategy
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