SEC asks UK authorities to assist Telegram officer

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked the Supreme Court of England and Wales to compel the formerTelegram's chief investment adviser to testify in the Gram token offer case.

The SEC's request was disclosed in documents filedregulator in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. In November, it became known that Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov and two other company employees would give testimony in December and January in the SEC's lawsuit against Telegram at the request of the court. Previously, the consideration of the SEC's lawsuit against Telegram was postponed until next year.

The SEC wants testimony, according to the filing.John Hyman due to his involvement in the $1.7 billion Telegram token sale last year. He reportedly spoke with “more than a dozen” investors in the company Telegram Open Network (TON). According to the documents, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov identified him in January last year as the person who “manages the distribution of Gram tokens.”

SEC approached UK authorities witha request to send a request for testimony by Hyman, since he is a British citizen and lives there. According to the application, the SEC attorney had previously contacted Hyman's attorney, and he agreed to appear to voluntarily testify.

However, later Hyman's lawyer allegedly"Refused to answer numerous phone calls and emails regarding Mr. Hyman's testimony." In addition to the testimony, the SEC wants to receive copies of Hyman's correspondence with the management and investors of Telegram, documents on his work in Telegram and data on his own investments in Gram.

The American regulator dealt an unexpected blow tothe upcoming TON blockchain in October, accusing Telegram of unregistered token sales a year and a half after the ICO. Telegram agreed to postpone the launch of the project, which was previously scheduled for the end of October, until April 2020. TON investors approved the postponement of the launch, refusing to refund funds until disputes with the SEC are resolved.

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