The Strategist

US court orders Telegram to return $1.2B to investors



06/26/2020 - 06:01



Telegram and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) entered into a settlement agreement under which the court ordered Telegram to return $ 1.22 billion to investors (minus funds that were already returned or were reissued as loans), and pay a fine of $ 18.5 million. This is stated in the documents of the Federal District Court of the Southern District of New York.



TechCrunch via flickr
TechCrunch via flickr
According to the court, the defendants, including Telegram Group Inc. and TON Issuer Inc., will also be required to notify the SEC of their participation in the issue of digital currencies within three years in 45 days.

Later, Pavel Durov announced in his Telegram channel that Telegram had already paid investors more than $ 1.2 billion “both directly and in the form of loans.” “We intend to continue to work on our other projects in the field of innovation and we hope that the regulatory environment for the blockchain technology in the United States will become more favorable for others in the future,” he concluded.

On May 12, Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced termination of work on the Telegram Open Network (TON) blockchain platform, in which investors invested $ 1.7 billion. The decision was made against the backdrop of the court supporting the SEC's position. Pavel Durov intended to return 72% of the invested funds to American investors, and investors from other countries can either return this share of investments, or give Telegram funds on credit and get 110% during the year, media reported.

source: cnbc.com