The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has demanded assistance from cryptocurrency exchanges and international regulators in disclosing data on Ripple’s external transactions. The SEC’s efforts have been in vain.
SEC attorney Jorge Tenreir has filed a complaint with a New York court that Ripple has not yet disclosed its financial information. Tenreir said the SEC has already analyzed cryptocurrency addresses associated with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen.
The regulator found that hundreds of millions of XRP were transferred to at least twelve cryptocurrency exchanges outside the US. The complaint to Sarah Netburn, District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York, indicated that Ripple did not provide any documents regarding digital asset accounts outside the United States and did not clarify the purpose of transfers using XRP.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission needs information on intraday XRP trading to determine if the crypto asset’s appreciation was dependent on the company’s earlier announcements. The agency believes that Ripple may have used false information to deceive investors, which contributed to the rise in the value of XRP.
Ripple has denied the allegations, but the SEC could strengthen its position in court if it can prove this relationship. However, according to Tenreir, the Commission cannot obtain this information from Ripple or any other third party. Meanwhile, cryptocurrency exchanges are the only ones that have information about such transactions with XRP.
American exchanges told the SEC that they did not have such data, “closing” the regulator the possibility of an investigation outside the country. The SEC has asked nine foreign regulators to obtain such information from 14 cryptocurrency exchanges under their jurisdiction, as well as from five companies using XRP and one investor who acquired XRP directly from Ripple. However, the efforts of the department were again in vain. All foreign regulators approached by the Commission rejected its request.
Recall that the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple late last year, accusing the company of violating securities laws when conducting a $ 1.3 billion ICO in 2013. The CEO of Ripple called the actions of the regulator an “attack” on all altcoins, and if the trial does not turn out in favor of Ripple, the same fate may await other cryptocurrencies.
