- Earlier, the court had requested the depositions of Telegram’s leadership, including CEO and founder, Pavel Durov.
- The SEC wants to stop the release of the TON blockchain and the supply of the project’s tokens.
Judge P. Kevin Castel of the New York Southern District Court has recently signed an order to Britain’s High Court to depose Telegram’s chief investment officer John Hyman. The SEC requested the motion last week and it was granted on Monday. It sought testimony and documents from Hyman regarding his work raising funds for Telegram’s blockchain project TON. The request was filed by SEC official Jorge Tenreiro, according to the signed order.
They have requested the High Court of England and Wales to have Hyman “appear before an examiner or other appropriate judicial authority in England and Wales” for a deposition. The order says:
It has been demonstrated to this Court that justice cannot be done amongst the parties to the Action without the testimony of Mr. Hyman… This Court requests the assistance of an appropriate English judicial officer to compel the appearance of Mr. Hyman to give oral sworn testimony and to produce documents on the subject matters and for the date ranges as described in this Request.
This comes as an effort by the SEC to stop the release of the TON blockchain and the supply of the project’s tokens, known as grams. According to SEC, grams are unregistered securities. Telegram has already sold its tokens to eminent American investors and is ready to plunge into the US market.
Telegram opposed saying that it had sought assistance from the SEC on how to avoid having grams classified as securities but didn’t receive any response from the regulator. Back in February and March 2018, Telegram had registered its token pre-sale as an exempt offering under Regulation D.
Earlier, the court had requested the depositions of Telegram’s leadership, including CEO and founder, Pavel Durov. Shyam Parekh, Telegram’s investment relations staffer, was questioned on Tuesday in London. Vice President Ilya Perekopsky is expected to be questioned on Dec 16, while Durov will likely be deposed in early January. Telegram will meet the SEC in court on Feb. 18-19.
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