Judge Torres Shuts Down Ripple-SEC Bid, $125M Penalty and Injunction Stand Firm

• US court has upheld the full $125 million penalty in Ripple-SEC Case, rejecting the joint bid to reduce fines and lift the injunction imposed on it.
• Final ruling is unchanged, as Judge Torres finds no strong justification to alter earlier decision on Ripple’s XRP sales.

The Ripple-SEC case has taken another turn as a U.S. judge declined a joint effort by the firm and the Securities and Exchange Commission to overturn key parts of an earlier ruling. Notably, both parties aimed to dissolve an existing injunction on Ripple’s institutional XRP sale. Additionally, the court ruled in favor of upholding the original decision.

Court Retains Ripple vs. SEC Ruling

In a recent update, we covered that Ripple and the SEC are now teaming up to revise the penalty terms Judge Torres imposed. However, Judge Analisa Torres, presiding over the matter in the Southern District of New York, issued a formal rejection of the motion filed by both Ripple and the SEC. 

It is worth noting that their request asked the court to allow Ripple to pay a reduced penalty of $50 million. At the same time, the duo sought to have the court lift the ban on its institutional XRP sales. The remaining funds, as proposed, would have been returned to Ripple.

However, the court was not convinced by the arguments presented. Judge Torres noted that the reasoning behind the original decision remained unchanged. The initial concerns raised by the SEC about Ripple’s possible future violations of federal laws had not been adequately addressed by either party. As a result, the court saw no strong basis for modifying its judgment.

Additionally, in their motion, the two parties also referred to other crypto-related enforcement cases where the SEC had recently dropped legal actions. However, those examples did not influence the court’s stance. 

The difference was that those other cases had not yet reached a final ruling before the SEC withdrew. The Ripple-SEC case, on the other hand, had already undergone the entire legal process and concluded with a final judgment.

Upholding Public Confidence in Federal Securities Enforcement

It is worth noting that a significant reason for the court’s decision to reject the motion was its concern for maintaining legal consistency and upholding public trust. Altering the ruling without clear justification was seen as potentially undermining the enforcement of federal securities laws. 

The court emphasized that final rulings carry weight and should not be set aside solely due to internal changes within a regulatory body or new agreements between the parties involved.

The court found no compelling reason to reduce the penalty or lift the restrictions placed on Ripple. With the judgment unchanged, Ripple remains responsible for the full $125 million fine, and the injunction on its institutional XRP sales remains in place.

While the SEC and Ripple will go back to the drawing board, the current status is negatively rattling the market.

Since the ruling, the price of XRP has remained pegged at $2.09, showing a modest 3.7% drop over the past 24 hours, according to MarketCap.

Meanwhile, CNF reported recently that Ripple Labs has teamed up with AEON, a Web3 mobile payments platform, in a move that brings XRP and Ripple USD (RLUSD) closer to everyday use.