Blockchain payment platform Ripple Labs Inc. is lending its voice to support Terraform Labs, noting that the court should reject the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) settlement penalty.
Ripple Describes SEC Settlement Request as Unreasonable
On June 12, the SEC requested that Terraform and its founder Do Kwon pay $3.58 billion in disgorgement and $420 million in a civil penalty.
The settlement amount comes in at a total of $4.47 billion. This request was made in lieu of accusations that Kwon and his former company were liable for deceiving investors about their cryptocurrency products. In the long run, Kwon’s insincerity caused several investors about $40 billion worth of their assets.
The court found Terraform Labs and Kwon liable for intentionally and recklessly orchestrating one of the largest securities fraud in the history of the United States.
However, it turned out that SEC’s settlement request represent about 1.27% of Terraform’s $33 billion gross sale. This makes the regulator’s settlement plan quite unreasonable. Consequently, Ripple filed a notice of supplemental authority, pointing to the fact that the SEC has requested for way lower settlement from more grievous cases in the past.
According to the crypto payments firm, most of the Commission’s civil penalty usually range from 0.6% to 1.8%, with 1.8% being the most grievous and egregious case.
Ripple believes that Terraform Labs should conveniently fall within this category. Compared to the range that has been seen over time, the SEC appears to be over-reaching the penalty range, a move that is not supported by several market observers. There are no allegations of fraud in the Terraform Labs case neither did institutional investors come of suffering substantial losses, Ripple opined.
Terraform Labs Settlement Should Not Exceed $10 Million
Terraform Labs says its penalty and disgorgement fee should not exceed $10 million. A glance at the firm’s balance sheet shows that it can not even afford such exorbitant settlement fee. As a bankrupt firm, Terraform Labs can only boast of $75 million in Assets Under Management (AUM).
Coinbase CLO Paul Grewal criticized the Commission for demanding such settlement fee from Terraform Labs and Kwon. He hinged his displeasure on the effectiveness of the settlement and how its ability to offer practical solutions to Terraform’s victims. He says $7 million is enough to serve as a settlement fee.
It is worth noting that the outcome of this process could impact other regulation-related lawsuits with the SEC including that of Ripple which has lasted for three years.
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