Ripple executives Bradley Garlinghouse and Christian Larsen denied the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s request to provide personal financial information as part of the investigation into violation of XRP security sales.
Ripple co-founders Ask Court for Protection of their Personal Data
Lawyers for Ripple Labs’ co-founders on March 11 demanded the protection of their personal data and asked the court to revoke the warrants issued to the six defendant banks.
The banking institutions specifically named are SVB Financial Group, First Republic Bank, New York Federal Reserve Bank, Silver Lake Bank, Silver Gate Bank, and Citibank.
Garlinghouse and Larsen’s attorneys argued that the SEC had exceeded the reasonable scope of its investigation when it alleged that the defendant confused his personal finances with those of Ripple Labs. Thursday’s document reads:
“The SEC’s multi-front attempt to troll through the Individual Defendant’s personal financial information in a non-fraud litigation, where the Defendants have already agreed to produce the relevant information regarding the challenged transactions, is a wholly inappropriate overreach.”
The controversial “challenging transaction” included unregistered revenue of 14.6 billion XRP as of 2013, valued at $1.38 billion at the time of the complaint and now valued at $6.5 billion.
Major legal fight on the cards
Garlinghouse and Larsen’s legal teams are getting their clients ready to collaborate on financial records related to XRP sales, including transaction records and compensation documents received from Ripple.
The filing document states: “Specifically, the Individual Defendants have agreed to produce (a) trading records relating to the sales of XRP that the SEC is challenging in this case, and (b) financial records concerning the compensation that they have received from Ripple.”
According to attorneys, financial records and daily expense accounts related to unrelated business activities have nothing to do with this case. The registration document states:
“As drafted, therefore, these requests demand everything from the proceeds of unrelated business activities to how much money they spend at the grocery store every week.”
The SEC-issued subpoena requires years of transaction data and monthly billing of Garlinghouse and Larsen’s personal bank accounts, including all money orders, checks, and images of electronic transfers.
