The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stopped two offshore entities from conducting an alleged unregistered, ongoing digital token offering in the United States and overseas that raised more than $1.7 billion in investor fund.
The SEC filed a complaint and obtained a restraining order against Telegram Group Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary TON Issuer Inc.
In its complaint, the securities regulator alleged that in January 2018, Telegram and its subsidiary started raising capital to finance its business including the development of its blockchain, the Telegram Open Network or TON Blockchain and its mobile messaging app called Telegram Messenger.
According to the SEC, Telegram sold around 2.9 billion digital tokens called “Grams” at a discounted price to 171 initial buyers worldwide. In the United States, 39 investors purchased over 1 billion Grams.
Telegram promised to deliver the Grams to its initial purchasers upon the launching of its blockchain by no later than October 31, 2019. During that time, the company and its purchasers will be able to sell billions of Grams into the U.S. markets.
