The Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States has requested that a judge in New York levy a fine of $1.95 billion against Ripple Labs. Specifically, the SEC requested that the Court take into consideration the ease with which individuals, particularly those operating in the cryptocurrency asset market, can engage in the same kind of behavior as Ripple.
According to the documents filed in the court, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has requested that a judge in New York impose a fine of approximately two billion dollars against Ripple Labs.
The chief legal officer of Ripple Labs, Stuart Alderoty, made a post on social media on Monday stating that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was requesting such a fine and that confidential versions of the court records would be made available to the public by March 26.
In its proposal, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requests that the court compel Ripple Labs to pay a total of $1.95 billion, which includes $876 million in disgorgement, $198 million in prejudgment interest, and $876 million in civil penalty penalties.
In December of 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) initiated legal action against Ripple Labs and its management, saying that they had broken federal securities laws by selling XRP to both institutional and retail consumers.
This action marked the beginning of the litigation. The selling of XRP on exchanges and through algorithms did not violate U.S. law, according to a ruling made by New York Judge Analisa Torres in July of last year. The only sales of XRP that did violate U.S. law were those made by Ripple to institutions.
The SEC asks the Court to consider how easily actors, particularly in the crypto asset space, can today engage in the same kind of conduct as Ripple's and send a strong message that such abuses will not be tolerated," the brief stated. "The SEC is focusing on how easy it is for actors to engage in the same kind of behavior as Ripple."
The SEC was slammed by Alderoty, who also stated in his letter that the company will submit its response to the SEC's move the following month. "Defendant's response shall be filed no later than April 22, 2024," the Supreme Court of the United States stated in its filing.
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