US SEC seeks $2 billion in fines and penalties from Ripple

• US SEC will be asking the Judge to impose a hefty fine of $2 billion on Ripple
• The penalty request is made concerning the institutional sale of XRP, which the Judge found was a breach of law

The United States Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) continues to be one of the most infamous agencies in the cryptocurrency market. The latest criticism towards the commission was drawn from Ripple’s executives.

In a revelation made on X, the Chief Legal Officer of Ripple – Stuart Alderoty – stated that the commission would be seeking $2 billion in fines and penalties. The official document filed by the SEC is not disclosed to the public yet but the redacted version will be made available to all tomorrow, March 26, 2024, according to Defense Lawyer – James K Filan.

SEC seeks hefty amount from Ripple for XRP’s institutional sales

The financial company spearheads the development of XRP – the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. And, it has been embroiled in a long legal battle against the commission concerning XRP’s status as a security.

The court battle, which began in December 2020, eventually resulted in a partial win for Ripple and the cryptocurrency market. Judge Analisa Torress ruled that XRP as a cryptocurrency was not a security.

However, the institutional sale of the coin did break securities law. Due to this, the Judge would decide whether or not to rule for injunctions or civil penalties, and if so, how much. And, in line with this, the company was ordered to share its financial details for 2022-2023 and details regarding the institutional sales with the SEC.

This has now resulted in the commission seeking a whopping $2 billion. Speaking about this, Aldeorty said that the commission “remains bent on wanting to punish and intimidate Ripple – and the industry at large.” He also said,

“Our response will be filed next month, but as we all have seen time and again, this is a regulator that trades in statements that are false, mischaracterized and designed to mislead. They stayed true to form here“

CEO of Ripple – Brad Garlinghouse also chimed in by stating that $2 billion in fines is not being sought out for “no allegations (let alone findings) of fraud or recklessness”. He also went on to say that, “ there is absolutely no precedent for this. We will continue to expose the SEC for what they are when we respond to this.”

“Gensler’s SEC has repeatedly acted outside the law – not going unnoticed by Judges admonishing the agency for a “gross abuse of the power entrusted to it by Congress” (DEBT Box case) and for acting without “faithful allegiance to the law” (Ripple case). Let’s not also forget Gensler’s lack of attention to SBFraud.”