While Ripple (XRP) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had found an amicable settlement, Judge Analisa Torres decided that it could not be that way. What will happen now?
Ripple (XRP) and the SEC continue their tug-of-war despite themselves
Last March, we looked back at an agreement reached between Ripple (XRP) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), meant to formalize the conflict initiated on December 22, 2020, between the two parties.
As a reminder, Judge Analisa Torres had ordered Ripple to pay a civil fine of exactly 125,035,150 dollars, in light of the irregularities regarding the securities laws concerning the primary sale of its XRP token.
Dissatisfied with this judgment, the SEC, which originally requested 2 billion dollars in penalties, then appealed, triggering a counter-appeal from Ripple in the wake.
This then brings us to the resolution of March 25, when both parties agreed to abandon the fight over a handshake of 50 million dollars paid by Ripple.
However, this was without counting on this same judge, Analisa Torres, who stated on Thursday that it could not be that way. She explains that Ripple and the SEC cannot agree to reduce the civil penalty or to get rid of the injunction:
The Court respects the freedom of the parties to resolve their disputes amicably. It is also true that the SEC, like any other law enforcement agency, has the discretionary power to change course after the initiation of a lawsuit. But the parties do not have the power to agree not to be bound by a final judgment of a court that states that a party violated a Congressional law in such a way that a permanent injunction and a civil penalty were necessary to prevent that party from violating the law again.
In other words, Ripple must now agree to pay the remaining amount due on the 125 million dollars, or maintain its appeal against the SEC, as explained by Stuart Alderoty, the company's legal director:
The ball is therefore back in our court. The Court has given us two options: reject our appeal challenging the finding regarding historical institutional sales, or continue the appeal. Stay tuned. In any case, the legal status of XRP, which is not a security, remains unchanged.
What is interesting here is that we see that once the judicial process has begun, it is not always possible to go back. This suggests that other cases could then come out of the drawers, although in the case of Ripple, it should be noted that the legal battle was already well advanced compared to other cases, and that several court decisions had already been made.
