Victory for Crypto: SEC Drops Charges Against Ripple Executives
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has moved to withdraw its allegations against Ripple CEO Bradley Garlinghouse and former Ripple executive Christian Larsen, slated for a court hearing next April.
The charges were related to aiding securities law violations in Ripple’s XRP sales. Notably, Ripple Labs was not part of the upcoming trial.
#XRPCommunity #SECGov v. #Ripple #XRP BREAKING: CASE DISMISSED AGAINST BRAD GARLINGHOUSE AND CHRIS LARSEN pic.twitter.com/BYTe9152jM
— James K. Filan 🇺🇸🇮🇪 (@FilanLaw) October 19, 2023
Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple’s CEO, criticized the SEC’s actions, emphasizing the absence of fraud or misrepresentation claims and characterizing the SEC’s actions as an attempt to harm him and the company.
This follows the SEC’s earlier failed attempts to seek an interlocutory appeal and a stay of the trial’s start, as decided by Judge Analisa Torres.
The SEC and Ripple have agreed to collaborate on a briefing schedule regarding remedies for Ripple’s Section 5 violations related to its Institutional Sales of XRP. A November 9 deadline has been set for the proposal, with court intervention possible if no agreement is reached.
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Stuart Aldeorty, Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer, viewed the SEC’s actions as a significant error and the ultimate dismissal of charges against the company’s executives.
Earlier this year Judge Torres ruled that the programmatic sale of Ripple’s XRP did not qualify as an investment contract, differentiating between Institutional and Programmatic Buyers. The legal dispute between the SEC and Ripple began in December 2020.