Ripple Challenges SEC’s Financial Request as Untimely Irrelevant

The crypto payments firm Ripple Labs continues its long-running legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission, now challenging the regulator’s last-minute bid to extract additional financial documents.

Ripple’s legal team asserts the discovery demand comes too late with irrelevant scope, signaling desperation from an “out of control” agency overextending authority.

The latest sparring underscores escalating tensions with a landmark crypto trial looming this April.

Missed Deadlines

The core contention lies with the SEC requesting updated data like audited financials and records of XRP sales after the discovery period expired.

Ripple’s lawyers emphasize the designated cutoff for demanding evidence has already passed. The SEC maintained ample time and opportunities to seek pertinent materials during Discovery yet declined to pursue specifics.

The unexpected shift in reopening closed proceedings raises suspicions of deliberately angling to introduce prejudice just as the high-profile case enters its final months.

“The Court should not go down the slippery slope the SEC is paving,” Ripple cautions about accommodating the last-ditch financial fishing expedition.

Allegations of Relevance

Beyond the alleged untimeliness, Ripple challenges the merits and applicability of the SEC’s elevating requests at this late stage.

The blockchain firm’s legal representatives argue the regulator fails to demonstrate how augmenting financial snapshots meaningfully impacts determining whether XRP transactions constituted unregistered securities sales.

If the details held such grave importance for the SEC’s argument, its lawyers would have insisted the data be collected during the extensive discovery period over the past two years.

Cries of Foul Play

For Ripple, the conspicuously belated need for updated ledgers and contract listings reeks of the SEC deliberately trying to manipulate proceedings and prejudice the court.

The company’s chief counsel, Stuart Alderoty, recently slammed the regulator as an “out of control agency” in an interview last week regarding the pending case.

This incident further fuels criticism of overreach without sound rationale.

“The Court should not go down the slippery slope the SEC is paving,” Ripple’s filing proclaims, urging the judge to reject entertaining the extralegal discovery proposal.

Ongoing Courtroom Saga

The latest discovery dustup merely represents the newest skirmish in Ripple’s nearly three-year courtroom saga defending itself against charges of illegally selling XRP tokens.

The SEC originally sued Ripple in December 2020, arguing periodic XRP sales to fund operations amounted to hawking unregistered securities.

While Ripple earned a partial summary judgment last July determining secondary XRP trading was not illegal, the core case remains unresolved ahead of a looming April trial launch.

How the pivotal hearing plays out largely depends on the judge determining which evidence merits inclusion in shaping her final determination.

Conclusion

With Ripple’s mammoth showdown against the SEC fast approaching this spring, the blockchain company cries foul over a last-gasp discovery request.

Lawyers for Ripple allege the belated push reeks of a desperate regulator grasping for extra data that holds little relevant bearing on alleged XRP securities dealings long predating the demanded docs.

As final pretrial quarrels wrap up, the SEC faces accusations of improper maneuvering to sway the court’s looming verdict on crypto’s most consequential trial.

Steve Anderson is an Australian crypto enthusiast. He is a specialist in management and trading for over 5 years. Steve has worked as a crypto trader, he loves learning about decentralisation, understanding the true potential of the blockchain.