The ruling came into force on 24 March 2020, following a request
put forward by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The
Commission alleged that Telegram sold
unregistered securities. Telegram was initially subpoenaed back in
October 2019 after serious allegations that the company violated
federal law. It claimed that the allegedly unlawful token sale
generated $2 billion. On Tuesday, the Court was of the opinion that
the Securities and Exchange Commission is more likely to
prove victorious in the outstanding court battle.
In his statement, Judge Catel stated that "The
Court finds that the Securities and Exchange
Commission has shown a substantial likelihood
of success in proving that the contracts and understandings at
issue, including the sale of 2.9 billion Grams to 175 purchasers in
exchange for $1.7 billion, are part of a larger scheme to
distribute those Grams into a secondary public market, which would
be supported by Telegram's ongoing efforts". The
Court
