SEC ends probe of Chesapeake, ex-CEO

A worker walks along a Chesapeake natural gas rig in the North Texas Barnett Shale bed rock deposit near Kennendale, Texas. Chesapeake Energy Corp said the US Securities and Exchange Commission has ended its probe against the company and its former chief executive Aubrey McClendon. The SEC began its investigation in May 2012. McClendon, who co-founded Chesapeake in 1989, left the company in April last year after clashing over spending with the company’s board and a series of Reuters investigations led to civil and criminal probes on the company. Since leaving Chesapeake, McClendon has raised nearly $4bn in cash and financing to invest in North American shale formations. He has also filed to raise up to $2bn to buy and drill oil and gas properties within the US through a partnership called American Energy Capital Partners.