The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is asking a judge for additional discovery from Ripple Labs in connection with XRP transactions, according to a new legal filing.
Fast Facts:
- The SEC is seeking six additional depositions and records on five more custodians, including former Ripple employees and Christian Gil, a co-founder of crypto trading firm and liquidity provider GSR. The SEC also wants Ripple to produce information on its XRP transactions following the filing of its complaint against the company last December, as well as on its lobbying efforts.
- “Ripple should also be compelled to produce documents concerning its lobbying efforts,” wrote SEC attorney Jorge Tenreiro in his letter to U.S. magistrate judge Sarah Netburn. “Evidence of efforts by Ripple to affect public perception — or to sow confusion in the market — about XRP’s regulatory status is relevant to rebutting Ripple’s affirmative defense that it lacked ‘fair notice‘.”
- According to the letter, the SEC is also planning to seek a short extension of the current July 2 deadline for fact discovery, given “the amount of other discovery still outstanding.”
- The SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple last December, alleging that its sale of XRP was an unregistered securities offering worth over US$1.38 billion. The SEC also named Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse and executive chairman Chris Larsen as co-defendants for allegedly aiding and abetting Ripple’s violations. The lawsuit is currently in its discovery phase, with the SEC and Ripple battling over the information to be shared with the other side.
See related article: Ripple seeks to protect legal advice on XRP from disclosure to SEC