Ripple’s top lawyer is responding to the release of an amended court complaint filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The SEC, which asserts XRP is a security and alleges Ripple illegally sold the digital asset without proper clearance, filed the amended complaint on Thursday.
The document adds more details on the role that the SEC claims Ripple executives Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen had in selling XRP to institutional investors.
“Larsen and Garlinghouse both played significant roles in negotiating and approving Ripple’s Institutional Sales and other offers and sales of XRP to institutional investors, including while Garlinghouse was COO.”
The SEC alleges Garlinghouse sold portions of his XRP portfolio while claiming he was “very long” on XRP and claims he and Larsen adjusted sales targets depending on the price of the digital asset.
Despite the modifications in the SEC’s latest filing, Ripple general counsel Stuart Alderoty says the SEC’s 79-page case against Ripple remains centered on a simple question.
“As many of you have seen, the SEC filed an amended complaint…
The only legal claim remains: did certain distributions of XRP constitute an investment contract? Disappointing the SEC needed to try to ‘fix’ their complaint after waiting years to bring it in the first place.”
Alderoty has also said the SEC’s case, which describes the company’s XRP remittance product, acknowledges XRP’s use as fuel for cross-border payments, showing the asset is unique and has utility.
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