The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dismissed all claims against Ripple CEO Bradley Garlinghouse and co-founder Christian Larsen.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dismissed all claims against Ripple CEO Bradley Garlinghouse and co-founder Christian Larsen, according to a court filing Thursday. The SEC had alleged the two executives aided and abetted Ripple Labs' unregistered securities offerings through XRP sales.
This dismissal comes after several favorable rulings for Ripple in its long-running legal battle with the SEC. In July, Judge Analisa Torres ruled that XRP sales on public exchanges were not unregistered securities offerings. She also rejected the SEC's request to appeal that decision. However, Torres did rule that some of Ripple's XRP sales to institutions had violated securities laws.
With the claims against the executives dismissed, the next phase will involve determining appropriate penalties for Ripple over improper institutional sales. The SEC and Ripple have until November 9 to propose a briefing schedule on remedies to the court.
In response, Garlinghouse said the SEC wrongly targeted him and Larsen in a "ruthless attempt" to ruin them and Ripple.
The lawsuit originally filed in December 2020 accused Ripple of raising over $1.3 billion through an unregistered XRP securities offering. The SEC has aggressively pursued crypto companies under Chairman Gary Gensler.
Dismissing charges against the executives marks a major setback for the regulator. The outcome represents a significant victory for Ripple as its long battle with the SEC nears a conclusion.