In the latest twist in Telegram SEC legal case, the founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, will himself depose before the authorities. He and two more Telegram employees will be present for questioning before the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officials. It seems that the saga is going to take a more decisive turn with this deposition.
New York Southern District Court Judge P. Kevin Castel, has stated in his ruling that the deposition will happen a mutually agreed upon location next year on January 7 or 8 in 2020. The other two notable employees include vice-president Ilya Perekopsky and Shyam Parekh. Interestingly, Shyam was involved in the GRAM token sale that fetched more than one and a half billion dollars ($1.7B). Both of them will depose in December 2019 itself.
The charges against Durov in the Telegram SEC legal case state that the company conducted unregistered securities sale to the investors under the garb of Gram token sale. After facing flak from SEC, Telegram replied that Gram tokens could not be considered a security and the preliminary injunction proceedings must be dropped.
Telegram SEC legal case delays Telegram Open Network launch
Telegram SEC legal case has claimed its first victim. Telegram Open Network launch, earlier scheduled on October 31, has now been delayed following SEC’s injunction proceedings. This development will have huge repercussions. Gram token purchase agreements mention that if the Telegram Open Network will not be launched at the stipulated date, the GRAM investors can file a refund claim after undertaking a vote.
Telegram administration understood this predicament. They gave the investors a choice between postponing the TON launch or a refund. Investors voted against a refund and accepted the delayed launch. Thus, the launch date of Telegram Open Network has been postponed to April 2020.
The said deposition of Pavel Durov will certainly clarify a lot of uncertainty regarding the TON launch and GRAM token’s potential. However, Telegram has expressed that constant rescheduling of the court hearings and deposition is a positive development towards sorting out the regulatory issues.
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