The U.S Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking personal financial information of two Ripple Labs Inc. executives, according to Bloomberg. SEC claims the company misled investors in the cryptocurrency XRP by selling the virtual tokens without registering.
Ripple co-founder Christian Larsen and CEO Bradley Garlinghouse on Thursday asked a federal judge to block subpoenas sent to six banks seeking eight years’ worth of information.
Larsen and Garlinghouse have termed the request for information by SEC a “wholly inappropriate overreach” in a suit that doesn’t involve alleged fraud.
SEC allegedly rejected records related to XRP transactions and information about other compensation from Ripple as provided by Larsen and Garlinghouse.
Ripple’s legal team alleges that SEC has not offered a coherent explanation why it is entitled to the information.
Larsen and Garlinghouse are accused of personally profiting by about $600 million.
SEC alleges that Larsen and Garlinghouse ignored legal advice that the cryptocurrency be considered an investment contract and, therefore, a security.
XRP plunged last year when the lawsuit was announced, but its market cap has almost doubled since the beginning of the year.
Ripple is currently declining. XRPUSD is down 4.28%.
