(Bloomberg) – Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has a $3 million option, a hard-working nuclear startup that he failed to reveal to the Ethics Committee because he made a comeback as mayor of New York City.
According to the securities application, the option is Nano Noud Energy Inc., which is eager to build portable nuclear reactors that can be deployed to data centers and disaster areas. The company's founder Jiang “Jay” Yu met Cuomo last year on network features.
Two men started their business within the weeks of the meeting, according to federal documents and interviews by YU. Cuomo started its IPO by joining Nano's executive advisory board in March, but still had no revenue and no patents.
According to the Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the company signed a contract with Innovation Strategies LLC, a consulting firm founded after Cuomo left the office. Cuomo received 125,000 stock options – if the shares were exercised, exercised at the current market price of Nano, the shares were worth approximately $3 million.
According to his disclosure to the New York City conflict of interest committee, Cuomo has a net worth of at least $3.4 million.
Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi confirmed the former governor held options through his consulting firm and had not exercised the option. However, these options are not yet listed on the financial disclosures required by Cuomo.
“While the disclosure is sincere and based on our reading of the law, we will work with the Conflict of Interest Commission and make any amendments deemed appropriate,” Azzopardi said. “If elected, Governor Cuomo will not have any other position other than serving as mayor of New York City and will work with COIB to drive any perceived problems that may arise and disclose remedies.”
A spokesperson for the Conflict of Interest Committee declined to comment on the policy of commenting on specific personal documents.
Cuomo, who was elected as governor for three terms, resigned in 2021 from Cloud of sexual harassment allegations he had denied and announced in March that he was running for mayor.
In an interview, Yu praised Cuomo as an active member of the company's advisory board, who famously shut down the Cape India nuclear power plant in New York, which also included retired Army Wesley Clark.
Yu said: “He took confidence in us.
Stock market analysts and investors are even more skeptical. Hunterbrook Media published a key report on NANO in July last year, citing its leaders’ lack of industry experience and technology, while Hunterbrook Capital LP, an affiliate investment arm of the store, cut its stock.
Early: Cuomo advises cryptocurrency exchanges on its response to U.S. investigation
Cuomo declined to name the client he consulted while promising to avoid conflicts of interest when elected. Bloomberg reported that he advised the cryptocurrency exchange at the city headquarters of Seychelles as the company conducted a federal prosecutor investigation in Manhattan. The company ended up paying more than $500 million to resolve the investigation.
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