Empower Oversight takes legal action against SEC over Ripple lawsuit
Empower Oversight, a non-profit Anti-Corruption Watchdog, has filed an action against the US Securities and Exchange Commission, compelling it to observe the multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests following allegations of conflict of interest in SEC Vs. Ripple Lawsuit.
#XRPCommunity #SECGov. v. #Ripple #XRP @EMPOWR_us
Below is a copy of the FOIA Complaint filed by Empower Oversight in its lawsuit against the SEC in federal court in Virginia. Paragraph 2 provides a short summary of the basis for the lawsuit.https://t.co/3Su7L4Blbx
— James K. Filan
(@FilanLaw) December 10, 2021
Rumors related to conflicts of interest were already revolving around the XRP community that came to a head after Empower Oversight asked the SEC in August to disclose any links between senior SEC officials and their current and former employers with respect to crypto assets.
Investigations revealed that William Hinman, the SEC’s former Director of the Division of Corporation Finance, continued to receive heavy compensation from Simpson Thacher, a major law firm and Hinman’s former employer while working at the SEC. The law firm is one of the members of a group that supports and promotes the Ethereum network.
“In a June 2018 speech in his official capacity as an SEC official, Hinman declared that the Ethereum cryptocurrency, Ether, was not a security,” the statement read. “After his declaration, Ether’s value rose significantly. After departing the SEC in late 2020, Hinman rejoined Simpson Thacher as a partner.”
Later on, however, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple for selling unregistered securities, claiming that Ripple’s crypto-asset XRP is a security. Marc Berger, a former SEC official who was responsible for filing the lawsuit, later left the regulatory body to join Simpson Thacher as well.
In its recent statement, Empower Oversight maintained that the SEC has failed to comply with six of its eight FOIA requests. Concerning the other two requests, it responded to, the watchdog noted:
“The SEC claimed that searches for two of the eight categories yielded no records relating to communications between Mr. Clayton or Mr. Berger and the SEC’s Office of Ethics Counsel regarding their future employers and any potential recusals.”
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