🌋 SEC Shuts Down Office Following Defeat in Crypto Case
posted 5 Jun 2024
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will close its regional office in Salt Lake City, and two of its attorneys have resigned. This decision follows the regulator's defeat in court against the mining company Digital Licensing and its DEBT Box project, which began in July 2023.
The SEC had accused the company of running a $50 million fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme. However, the court ruled against the Commission, citing "bad faith conduct" and ordering it to pay $1.8 million in attorney fees and court costs.
SEC officials stated that the office closure is not connected to the penalty or the court defeat but is instead due to substantial staff cuts and a strategic move to consolidate operations at the Denver office.
Recently, the SEC reached a preliminary settlement with Terraform Labs and its co-founder Do Kwon in a fraud case, where the regulator had initially sought a $5.3 billion fine. Meanwhile, the Commission continues to pursue cases against numerous crypto companies, including Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, and others.
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