US secretary of commerce Wilbur Ross has yet to cut ties to a shipping fund he pledged to sell out of.
This is according to a financial disclosure obtained by Forbes.
It revealed Ross still owns an interest in Starboard Recovery Associates and, under the liabilities section of the filing, he lists a “capital commitment” to a related company of between $1m and $5m.
Ross promised to sell his equity holdings to maintain public trust while in office.
He has previously sold the vast majority of his stake in Starboard.
Ross responded on Monday by saying his July 2018 pledge to divest was not legally binding.
“While I have divested of many millions of dollars in complex private equity interests, the divestiture of an approximately $2,700 holding I volunteered, but was never legally required to divest, is still underway,” he said in a statement.
According to the filing, the remaining stake gives him an indirect share of shipping assets like WLR/TRF KZ Holding I LLC and WLR/TRF Tanker Two LLC.
Ross, the former Diamond S Shipping chairman, sold out of that company in 2017 after taking heat for potential conflicts in his government role.
