Deal sealed: Judge approves SEC’s lawsuit dismissal against Ripple’s executives

• The US court approves SEC’s decision to dismiss the case against Ripple’s Garlinghouse and Larsen
• Both executives are now “legally vindicated” of all charges in the SEC’s now-debunked ‘XRP is a security’ case

The case against Ripple’s top executives has finally come to an end today, 23 October. The U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres finally signed the order dismissing the case against Brad Gralinghouse and Chris Larsen. This was as per a document shared by James K. Filan. The court approval comes days after the SEC yielded against the pioneering crypto firm by dropping its lawsuit against its executives.

The court-approved dismissal paper said,

“IT IS NOW STIPULATED AND AGREED, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 41, by and between undersigned counsel, that the claims alleged by Plaintiff Securities and Exchange Commission against Defendants Bradley Garlinghouse and Christian A. Larsen (…) are hereby dismissed in their entirety, with prejudice and without costs or fees to either party.”

Is your portfolio green? Check the XRP Profit Calculator

Ripple’s Garlinghouse and Larsen “legally vindicated”

In a lawsuit launched in 2020, the U.S. securities regulatory body claimed that Garlinghouse and Larsen had aided and abetted Ripple in committing securities violations. The SEC, in particular, held the two executives responsible for the $1.3 billion institutional sales of XRP. Thus, classifying that the crypto was security. This allegation along with the claims of XRP being a security was taken up to the courts. However, Ripple only claiming victory so far.

In July 2023, the case on whether or not XRP was a security came to an end. The court deemed that XRP in and by itself was not a security. However, the court also deemed that XRP’s institutional sale formed an investment contract. This court decision gave Ripple its first big victory, despite being partial.

The verdict also saw several U.S.-based crypto exchanges relisting the coin, after over two years of hiatus. Top crypto exchange – Coinbase took the lead by providing services for the coin again on the very same day of the court ruling.

Post this, the commission had filed for an interlocutory appeal. However, this too was lost in the courts, marking Ripple’s second victory against the SEC. The latest decision of the regulatory body to dismiss the case against Ripple’s top executives was proclaimed as a “surrender” by the firm.

In a press release, Larsen had stated that they were “legally vindicated and personally redeemed in our battle against a troubling attempt to abuse the rules.” He also said,

“While justice ultimately prevailed, the government’s actions that led to this point raise questions about the origin, and motivation of this lawsuit. It is an abuse by the administrative state that politically connected special interests, with clear and proven conflicts of interest, were able to drag our names through the mud in an attempt to ruin us personally and destroy a company (…)”