Judge Denies Telegram's Request to Sell GRAM Tokens to Non-US Investors
Judge Kevin Castel of the New York Southern District Court has dismissed Telegram's request to sell its tokens outside of the U.S.
J. Castel denies #telegram's request to modify the injunction to allow it to sell to non-US persons. https://t.co/cQC7maxOgb pic.twitter.com/57ya3Or1GG
— Drew Hinkes (@propelforward) April 1, 2020
Alex DovbnyaSales outside of the U.S. are not fine
On March 24, Castel issued a temporary injunction, which prohibited the messaging giant from distributing $1.7 bln worth of Gram tokens. He decided that the historic Telegram ICO that took place in early 2018 was likely an unregistered securities sale.
The new court ruling says that Telegram's argument in favor of clarification was 'less than straightforward' since the proposed form of the injunction, which bars the Pavel Durov-helmed company from delivering Gram tokens to 'any person or entity' has been known since October.
A major win for the SEC
As reported by U.Today, the Telegram Open Network (TON) was supposed to be launched on Oct. 31, 2019. However, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disrupted the plan and took Telegram to court for running an illegal ICO.
This Monday, the SEC asked the court to deny Telegram's request while clarifying that the scope of its preliminary injunction.
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