SEC Wins Motion in Case Against Ripple, Judge Orders Financial Statement Production

According to Blockworks, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has won a motion in its case against Ripple. Judge Sarah Netburn ordered Ripple to produce its financial statements for 2022-2023. Ripple will also have to produce its post-complaint contracts and the institutional XRP sales proceeds that occurred after the filing of the SEC's complaint. The SEC previously argued that the documentation from Ripple would help determine possible injunctions and civil penalties. Ripple had filed a response, stating the request was "untimely" and arguing that the SEC's actions were "irrelevant" since the information was not needed for any court-determined remedies. The court has set a February 12 deadline for discovery related to the potential remedy of the suit. Late last year, the SEC moved to dismiss charges against Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Christian Larsen. Ripple, however, remained a defendant in the suit but was not part of the now-canceled trial. The SEC and Ripple have been engaged in a legal battle since 2020 when the regulator alleged that Ripple Labs conducted an unregistered securities offering worth $1.3 billion. Last summer, Judge Analisa Torres granted both the SEC and Ripple wins in the case, determining that the institutional sales of the token XRP constituted a securities offering, but the programmatic sales did not. Ripple did not immediately return a request for comment.