The Strategist

US court obliges Telegram to disclose data on token transactions



05/11/2020 - 02:37



U.S. court ordered Telegram to inform the US Securities and Exchange Commission on any assets transferred to buyers of Gram tokens. The company will also need to provide data on contacts with customers related to cancellation of the initial placement of cryptocurrency.



TechCrunch via flickr
TechCrunch via flickr
The Federal Court of Southern District of New York State ordered Telegram’s owner Pavel Durov to transfer inform the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on all information on transactions for the sale of Gram tokens. This follows from the decision of Judge Kevin Castel.

Telegram is obligated to provide the SEC with information on any assets transferred to customers under the agreements or received in connection with their termination, as well as data on changes made to the agreements. No later than May 20, the company must also report about contacts with customers related to cancellation of the initial placement of cryptocurrency. In addition, Telegram is obliged to transmit previously requested data on banking operations to the SEC.

Telegram planned to launch its blockchain platform TON and the Gram cryptocurrency on October 31 last year. However, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has secured a temporary injunction to issue tokens. The Commission considers the Telegram cryptocurrency to be securities, and indicates that the company violated the law when preparing the issue, as it did not disclose information about the financial condition of the company, its business, management and risks. Telegram did not agree with the SEC position, and the launch of the platform was delayed until April 30. At the end of March, a court in New York upheld the SEC's position and forbade the transfer of tokens to investors.

In connection with the cancellation of the launch of the platform, Telegram offered investors either to get back 72% of the invested funds, or to wait on April 30, 2021 and receive 110% of the amount of investments. Gram investors surveyed by Forbes reacted extremely negatively to the new conditions proposed by the company. One of them said that he was not satisfied with the proposed waiver of claims, the possibility of withdrawing from the agreement after three months, as well as the lack of collateral in shares and payments in cryptocurrencies. Another investor called the proposed conditions were “bad” and said: “Under the guise of a coronavirus, Durov is trying to pocket $ 500 million.”

source: forbes.com