SEC: Telegram team called Gram a security and lied about raised funds

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) presented new evidence in the case against Telegram. Regulatorfound that the company employees themselvesconsidered Gram tokens of the TON blockchain platform (Telegram Open Network) as securities, the documents sent to the court said. The commission requires consideration of the case in a simplified and expedited manner. Telegram sent a similar request.

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It follows from John Hyman's correspondence with investors,what he said specifically about the sale of tokens, and not about “selling a share in the right to receive a Gram”. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov called Hyman the chief investment adviser of the company and the person involved in Gram distribution.

In another letter, Telegram employee Shyam Parekh explicitly calls Gram Securities.

These facts can be considered one of the keySEC v. Telegram, since it is precisely the question of whether the tokens of the TON blockchain platform are securities, which has become the main cause of the lawsuit.

Telegram representatives previously insisted thatGram tokens are not a security, and SEC claims are based on a “fundamentally distorted theory” that Gram is subject to relevant US laws.

In addition, the SEC document indicates that the Telegram team was not only aware of the sale of tokens on the gray market, but also regularly took an interest in the situation.For example, was notified that one of the TON investors sold 25-50% of his tokens on the secondary market for $4.5-9 million, which is twice as high as the purchase during the ICO.

The SEC also indicated that Telegram reported on $ 750 million of attracted investments on April 6, 2018, but at that time the TON team actually had only $ 490 million.

"This figure gradually increased over the next few months as Parekh, and Perekopsky worked to obtain new sales contracts and payment for them,"according to the SEC.

At the same time, the documents say that the CEO of Telegram confirmed that by March 29, 2018, the company did not receive $ 850 million, as claimed.

“We believed that having all these contractssales signed by buyers gives us guarantees that the funds will ultimately be transferred. Otherwise, we could start a lawsuit with each of the buyers who have not fulfilled their obligations. ”