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By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
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SDNY COURTHOUSE, Jan 4 – On the crypto-currency beat, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge P. Kevin Castel is set to rule on a request by the SEC for Telegram to reveal bank records showing how it spent $1.7 billion in ICO funds. Telegram had until January 3 at 5 pm to file its response.

    But as of 7 pm on January 4, there was no response in the docket. And the SEC's deposition of Pavel Durov is set to begin on January 7 in Dubai. Inner City Press, which is covered the saga of (ex?) Ethereum Virgil Griffith, has asked to be notified of any and all filings in this case.

  Here's from the SEC's request: " The SEC respectfully requests that Telegram be compelled to provide complete bank records and answers questions about Telegram’s use of these funds.

 The SEC seeks this information through Telegram’s bank records, as well as from Pavel Durov, the witness designated as Defendants’ corporate representative pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(b)(6), whose deposition is currently scheduled to take place on January 7 and 8, 2020, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)(1), the undersigned hereby certifies that he has attempted to confer in good faith with Defendants in an effort to obtain the requested bank records and information without court action. After various meet and confers on this subject over the last several weeks, on Friday, December 27, 2019, the undersigned advised Telegram’s counsel that it was prepared to file this motion that day if Telegram did not agree to provide its bank records showing credits and debits. Counsel for Defendants represented to the undersigned that, after consultation with their clients, they would produce the “bank records,” and prepare Mr. Durov to testify with respect to these topics.

However, Defendants produced records showing only credits, and not debits showing how Telegram spent the investors’ money. When, on December 30, 2019, the undersigned complained about the incomplete production, counsel for Defendants claimed they had misunderstood the SEC’s request to have been limited to credits, even though we had had an extended discussion with them on December 27 regarding our need for bank records including credits and debits and even though our request had been pending for weeks and was reiterated in writing the day before our December 27 call (see Exs. A & B). Counsel later informed the undersigned that they would not provide full bank records themselves, but instead only information, culled by them, concerning payments from Telegram to third parties relating to the TON project. They also indicated that they could not immediately produce those records because Telegram was no longer banking at the same institution. In the meet and confer process, the parties also agreed that the SEC would hold off filing this motion sooner, so that counsel could revert back to their client one more time in an attempt to resolve this, but that, if filed, Telegram’s response to this submission would be due in one business day, instead of the three set forth in the Order.

At bottom, Telegram does not want to tell the SEC what it has done with the $1.7 billion it raised from investors. Because the deposition of Defendants’ corporate representative is slated to take place in Dubai next Tuesday and Wednesday, the SEC is filing this application today."  

  Watch this site.

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