Penny stock millionaire Tolga Kumova has denied allegations he sought to pump up the value of shares in Bellevue Gold on Twitter while he sold millions via stockbrokers during 2020 and 2021.

The Melbourne-based former Financial Review Young Rich Lister and bodybuilder, who flaunts a Ferrari-driving, polo horse-riding lifestyle on social media, told the Federal Court he typically held 40 to 60 separate investments at any time, with the Bellevue shares sold to provide cash for his family’s living expenses because he was worried about the effects of COVID-19 in 2020.