Amid the backdrop of an American pandemic (we’re talking within the grounds of the U.S here) Eastman Kodak Co. somehow managed to receive nearly a billion dollars in federal loan monies for reasons that were baffling to many. Initially, it was raised that Kodak would help the U.S government in creating and potentially manufacturing COVID-19 related drugs that could quell the virus as a whole.
Here’s what went wrong.
When announced it was almost immediately met with backlash considering Kodak Co has always been a photography company rather than a Pharma company. Many felt that the idea that a photo agency with no experience in medicine making medicine could only backfire.
Now, federal watchdogs are calling foul and the deal appears to be on ice. Over the weekend, it emerged that federal officials have paused the deal pending investigations into very real claims that stocks and insider-trading may have played a part Into the loan/deal.
“Recent allegations of wrongdoing raise serious concerns,” the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation said in a tweet late Friday of the company that once dominated the camera and film industry. “We will not proceed any further unless these allegations are cleared.”