Mark Walter’s sudden decision to sell his majority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers has raised more questions than answers. Then came reports of a federal investigation, putting every move by the businessman and his empire under even greater scrutiny and speculation. Amid this came his recent $12.5 billion move, which fueled doubts over the ownership and future of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Reports that he was looking to sell the media rights to raise cash reignited the storyline about unwinding billions in assets to satisfy insurance regulators, but TWG Global is now pushing back against that narrative.

The company, for the first time, offered a pointed explanation of the recent moves, and it directly addressed the biggest question surrounding the billionaire’s sports empire. 

“Despite what has been reported, there has been no fraud,” TWG said in a statement, according to Fabian Ardaya. “Over the past several weeks, multipronged attacks against TWG have been advanced by unnamed sources with self-serving interests that have been reported in the media.

“It is important to set the record straight. TWG stands firmly behind the integrity of its business and remains focused on continuing to deliver value to its stakeholders.”

The scrutiny around Walter started with a private-credit investment. Approximately $16 billion was reportedly held by insurance companies Delaware Life Insurance Co. and Clear Spring Life & Annuity Co., and both are under Walter’s control. The federal prosecutors in Manhattan and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission started parallel investigations into his business empire, and at one point, the investigators seized the phone and laptop of the Dodgers’ owner. 

The biggest accusation was that the premiums collected by the insurers were invested back in Walter-owned organizations, and it was happening through Guggenheim Partners. While reinvesting isn’t a crime, there is a certain limit to how much money one can inject back into his own companies. 

The biggest issue? The actual figure was around $17 billion above what they originally reported, but TWG denies any wrongdoing. 

“There is no victim here. No one has been harmed, and no one has claimed they were harmed,” their statement said.

But when Mark Walter decided to part ways with the Lakers, the speculation intensified. He had owned the NBA franchise for about 14 months before agreeing to sell his majority stake, and he decided within 72 hours, reportedly securing a $2.5 billion profit. There were even reports of Walter looking to sell his Chelsea FC shares. This eventually raised concerns among many Dodger fans. But with the official statement, TWG has seemingly drawn a line between the owner’s financial troubles and his sports holdings.

Dodgers aren’t going anywhere

The Dodgers’ future and any possibility of a change in their ownership have dominated the conversation for weeks. That was understandable, with the cross-town NBA team going through a similar situation, but the noise refused to die down as reports suggested Walter was attempting to get out of the Dodgers’ and Lakers’ sweetheart television deal. The fact that he was reportedly looking for cash transactions only created more panic.

It got to the point where the Dodgers fans started worrying about their biggest superstar. Shohei Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million deal with the LA side, but he has a unique clause in his contract. The key-man clause allows him to terminate the contract if Mark Walter and Andrew Friedman leave the organization, and with Walter having already parted ways with the Lakers, Dodgers loyalists couldn’t shake the fear of losing their two-way star.

But the MLB franchise has maintained the same stance from the very beginning. Although manager Dave Roberts tried not to comment on the investigations, he mentioned that the Lakers’ sale was just business as usual, and he didn’t think the Dodgers would go through a similar scenario. 

But the Dodgers president and CEO, Stan Kasten, was far more direct with his responses, and each time he faced the media, he reiterated the same thing:

“The Dodgers are not being sold. They’re not gonna be sold. They’re not for sale. There’s no process that has been started to sell it, period.” 

Most importantly, he highlighted what their current focus is, saying, “We are planning only to win.”

Now, with TWG Global offering an official statement, Kasten’s words hold stronger. The team, along with its fans, can concentrate on the remaining games and, subsequently, the postseason.