Cambridge Analytica may shut down but investigations against it to continue

Cambridge Analytica (CA), the firm based in the UK which recently made the headlines for the infamous Facebook data breach row, said on Wednesday, May 2, that it would shut down because of bankruptcy caused by the negative publicity in the wake of the controversy. But the UK's data regulator and a body of lawmakers probing into the firm said the investigations would continue even if CA closes.

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) - the UK's data regulator, said in a statement: "We will be examining closely the details of the announcements of the winding down of Cambridge Analytica and the status of its parent company," Reuters reported.

"The ICO will continue its civil and criminal investigations and will seek to pursue individuals and directors as appropriate and necessary even where companies may no longer be operating," the statement further said, Reuters added.

"We will also monitor closely any successor companies using our powers to audit and inspect, to ensure the public is safeguarded," the statement also added.

British lawmakers have also warned that the CA should not escape the law by the act of shutting down. Damian Collins, chairman of UK parliament's Digital, Culture, Media and Sports Committee which is probing CA, said CA and its parent company SCL Elections were charged with serious allegations and told Reuters that just the act of shutting down could not impede the probe.

CA, which continued to deny the allegations brought against it, said it had to close down since the eruption of the controversy shooed away all its clients, leaving it in an untenable state.

CA was charged with data breach to influence elections in major democracies like the US, UK and India. It also landed Facebook in deep trouble as the social media giant was also accused of not attaching enough seriousness to safeguarding its users' information. The scandal also saw Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifying before a grilling Congress for two days in April.