Telegram To Hand Over Bank Records, Communications To SEC
- The messaging app has until 20 May to turn over all requested documents and answer questions regarding any bank records that have already been produced.
- The agreement was signed only a day after a fork of the TON blockchain was launched.
Woman holding iPhone X with social networking service Telegram on the screen. Freepik
Encrypted messaging app Telegram has agreed to turn over communications, bank records and other information to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
According to court documents from 8 May, the firm has agreed to provide the SEC with a trove of communications and documentation related to the purchase agreements between it and the initial purchasers from its 2018 ICO. The agreement is part of the SEC’s discovery process in its ongoing legal fight against the startup, which allegedly violated securities law during its $1.7 billion token sale in 2018.
The filing reads:
Telegram shall provide the SEC with notice of any amendments to the Purchase Agreements, and notice of any final written agreements entered into with the Initial Purchasers relating to or arising out of the Purchase Agreements, within two days following such amendments or final agreements.
The firm will also answer questions regarding any bank records that have already been produced, and has until May 20 to provide the SEC with the newly-requested information. In addition, Telegram will share information on whether it has already distributed assets to its pre-sale customers, and information regarding assets it has received from said investors.
According to the court records, Telegram and the SEC submitted the agreement on 7 May, which was then signed off by a judge on Friday. The messaging app has also agreed to the SEC’s discovery requests from February, and will not object on the basis of timeliness, though it did reserve all other rights and objections.
The consent agreement was filed the same day that the “Free TON” community decided to launch its own version (fork) of the TON blockchain. The launch, which was live-streamed on YouTube, was in direct response to Telegram’s decision to postpone the launch of the network with one more year. Telegram has offered its investors two choices in regards to postponing the launch – either a 72 cents to the dollar refund, or a potential 110% one after a year.
- Popular Telegram bot Unibot, which is used to snipe trades on Uniswap, became a victim of a token approval exploit earlier today, when it was switching to a new router.
- After confirming the exploit, Unibot assured users that their keys and wallets were safe, and that the project will compensate all affected users.
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- Signed by a judge on Friday, the final judgement requires Telegram to pay back $1.2 billion to investors.
- The firm will have 30 days to pay $18.5 million in penalties, and is also required to notify the SEC if it plans to issue another digital asset in the next 3 years.
- The firm has now dropped its appeal against the U.S. federal court’s injunction, which forbade the distribution of its Gram tokens.
- Though Telegram has thrown in the towel, the TON blockchain dream is not over, with the “Free TON” community’s launch of their own version of the project.