At first glance, there is an absurd ring to last week's request by Italian stockmarket regulator Consob that Telefónica comment on "indiscretions in the press" over whether it is buying Telecom Italia's Brazilian mobile unit Tim Brasil with a view to a three-way break-up.
True, Telecom Italia's share price was all over the place last Friday and yes, the Spanish company will soon control the Italian operator. But it is not as if Consob is Telefónica's regulator.
On top of sniffing around Tim Brasil, Consob's fishing expedition also sought to ascertain whether Telefónica has had dealings with Brazil's competition watchdog Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Económica (Cade) about a Tim Brasil deal.
As it happens, Telefónica is already tangling with Cade over its request that it reduce its grip on Brazilian mobile telephony.
Those charmingly-described "indiscretions" look to be based on talk that did the rounds three months ago, when Telecom Italia lost its CEO and research firms published compelling notes on the merits of Telefónica buying Tim Brasil and divvying it up between itself, América Móvil and Oi Telemar. The Spanish company would end up with the lion's share of the Brazilian mobile market.
Telefónica today gamely came up with the line that although it "does not comment on speculative articles and news published by the press, [it] would like to clarify that it is not part to any such vehicle and it has no details of any kind on any such potential transaction to disclose to the public for market evaluation".
Nor has it been chatting to Brazil's Cade about such a deal.
Much as it would make sense for Telefónica to buy TIM Brasil and divvy it up – not least because Telecom Italia needs the cash to bring its precarious debt pile under control - it needs to be done without stiffing Telecom Italia minorities. That means that it should launch a consortium bid with its Brazilian partners - a solution that is as practical as it is transparent.
That's if Telefónica has not just painted itself into a corner by responding to Consob's fishing expedition and saying it is not (at least not on its own) up to anything.