source

Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Fortune/Time Inc

The bosses of a Brazilian reinsurance giant falsely claimed Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway was one of its investors.

IRB-Brasil Resseguros CEO Jose Carlos Cardoso and CFO Fernando Passos also said they were close to Berkshire’s insurance chief, Ajit Jain, .

IRB’s stock plunged as much as 41% and its CEO and CFO resigned after Berkshire denied it was a shareholder this week.

The company plans to launch an investigation and be more transparent going forward.

.

The bosses of a Brazilian reinsurance giant boasted that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway was one of its investors. The company’s stock nosedived and its chief executive and finance boss stepped down after Berkshire denied the claim this week.

IRB-Brasil Resseguros CEO Jose Carlos Cardoso and CFO Fernando Passos said on a conference call on Monday that the famed investor’s conglomerate – which owns Geico and other insurers – had raised its stake in the company, Bloomberg reported, citing a research note by two analysts who said they were on the call.