Brooklyn District Court equated ICO with securities issue. The decision was made as part of the consideration of the case of fraudulent token sales of businessman Maxim Zaslavsky.
As Bloomberg writes, at the preliminary hearing, Judge Raymond Deary agreed with the prosecution, which stated, that in the framework of federal criminal law, the initial offerings of coins are equivalent to the issue of securities. The case remains to be considered by the jury, And, if they agree with this verdict, this will be a precedent for all similar productions.
US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicted REcoin Group Foundation and Diamond Reserve Club World for fraudulent ICOs last September. Businessman Maxim Zaslavsky organized token sales for the sale of coins, supposedly backed by gold and jewelry. In reality, these assets did not exist, like the team of lawyers, brokers and accountants, allegedly collected by an entrepreneur. Zaslavsky was accused of embezzling money from investors in the amount of 300 thousand. dollars and in November 2017 years taken into custody, he did not admit his guilt.
The decision of a federal judge in the United States becomes the norm for subsequent similar cases.. If Judge Brooklyn's ruling remains in effect, any startup, conducting ICO without registration with the SEC, will violate the rules for the placement of securities. According to them, only professional investors can participate in the campaign, who need to provide the finished product and financial statements without fail. In this case, token sales that have already taken place will not face any liability, since the law is not retroactive. But American crypto exchanges can force tokens to be removed from listing.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered the immediate termination of the hedge fund Crypto Asset Management LP (CAM). The company was declared illegal.
Beyond the CAM Fund, the regulator also launched proceedings against the unregistered cryptocurrency broker-dealer TokenLot. He will pay a fine of 471 thousand. Dollars.
