Key Takeaways:
- The SEC-Ripple dispute is now about the agency’s image and reputation, as well as business and profits for the corporation.
- The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a joint report with the Virginia Eastern District to postpone the FOIA legal proceedings.
- The goal of this report is to postpone the critical information provisions that could potentially dismiss the litigation against the Ripple (XRP) network.
The SEC-Ripple litigation has now become a matter of image and reputation for the agency, as well as business and profits for the corporation.
Another roadblock the US Securities and Exchange Commission has erected in the way of global settlement and currency exchange network Ripple’s efforts to have the accusations against it withdrawn.
The US SEC filed a joint report in the Virginia Eastern District on April 19, 2022, to delay the legal procedures under the Freedom of Information Act FOIA.
More crucially, the goal of this report is to postpone the critical information provisions that might potentially dismiss the litigation against the Ripple (XRP) network.
Judge Sarah Netburn ordered William Hinman, a former SEC official, to be deposed for suspected violations of SEC rules, which delayed the lawsuit. Hinman, a former SEC finance director, has been accused of conflict of interest and impropriety by the Commission’s ethics office.
Hinman is alleged to have actively lobbied for Ethereum. The SEC has been accused of intentionally and vicariously placing Ripple at a disadvantage and impeding its development across institutions.
Some whistleblowers and crypto enthusiasts have labeled the Commission’s roadblocks to Ripple as malevolent. Empower Oversight, the case’s party, is among these individuals.
Speaking on the matter, Jason Foster, founder, and president of Empower Oversight stated that the SEC is attempting to avoid accountability and delay judicial review of its failure to comply with FOIA by hiding behind the interests of confidentiality of the law firm, which its own ethics officials stated had a conflict.
Recognizing that failure to cooperate with the discovery demands would almost certainly result in the lawsuit being dismissed, the Commission is attempting to buy time.
The SEC first replied to Empower Oversight’s request for records by delivering a 200-page discovery document containing contact between the SEC and Hinman.
Based on the SEC’s apparent attempt to halt proceedings in the FOIA action, Empower Oversight is now demanding that the Eastern District Court adopt its customary accelerated procedures in the matter.
The week has been dismal for XRP. XRP declined 1.70 percent on Saturday. XRP ended the day at $0.7055, a 2.06 percent decrease from the previous day. Throughout the week, XRP underperformed the larger crypto market, as market risk aversion weighed on the crypto market. The latest developments in the Ripple vs. SEC case have dragged on XRP, which has challenged the $0.70 support level.
