Telegram and SEC Concluded a Settlement Agreement. Durov Will Pay a Fine of $18.5 Million and Return $1.22 Billion to TON Investors

by Samuel White

As the documents in the electronic database of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York say, Telegram is ordered to return $1.22 billion to Gram investors, as well as pay $18.5 million in compensation. The company is also required to notify the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the release of cryptocurrency within the next three years.

Telegram Lawyers Withdrew an Appeal Over the Ban of Selling Gram Tokens
On May 12, Pavel Durov announced the closure of the Telegram Open Network (TON) project. That’s why the lawyers of Telegram Group Inc. decided to withdraw a March appeal against a court order banning the sale of Gram.
The Internet ProtocolSamuel White

Telegram will be obliged to send a notice of intention to issue digital assets 45 days before the planned issue. Probably, the agreement also takes into account the commitment of Durov’s team to stop the development of TON and return the money to investors.

Under an amicable agreement, Telegram is not required to plead guilty. It is stated in a letter of the SEC to judge Kevin Castel, who led the case.

An agreement between the SEC and Telegram was reached on June 11. It was on this day that the six-month litigation with the regulator ended. According to the decision reached between the two parties, Telegram has 30 days to pay a fine to the SEC.

Durov's team has a maximum of four years to return their debts to investors.

TON Development Team Stops Participating in the Project
TON development team stops its active participation in the project for the reasons we wrote about earlier. The efforts of the team were redirected to other projects.
The Internet ProtocolSamuel White

Pavel Durov said that, fortunately, the proceedings between the SEC and Telegram ended because agreements were reached with the US regulator.

To date, Durov’s team has already paid more than $1.2 billion, both directly and in the form of loan agreements.