Elizabeth Warren and three other Democratic senators sent open letters to several creators of special-purpose acquisition companies on 22 September questioning how Spac executives are compensated and requesting more details about their potential conflicts of interest.

The letters are the latest sign that regulators and lawmakers are increasing their scrutiny of so-called blank-cheque companies, which were rarely used as a way for startups to go public before 2020 but have exploded in popularity recently. Some skeptics argue that Spacs disproportionately benefit insiders through lucrative incentives even if companies they take public struggle and stick individual investors with losses.