The ongoing case against Telegram has taken a new shape as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking legal means of obtaining information related to the case.

On January 2, the U.S. SEC filed a court order against Telegram. The purpose of the application is to force Telegram to release information on how it spent the funds obtained from its initial coin offering.

According to the SEC, the $1.7 billion raised by Telegram from the sales of Gram tokens constituted an unregistered securities sale.

The SEC is requesting testimony and records from Telegram as regards the sum of money, sources, and how it used the funds raised from investors. The SEC maintained that the defendants have refused to disclose the bank records regarding the way they spent the money and the disposition of investors’ funds.

Three months ago, a report by Cointelegraph noted the announcement of emergency action by the SEC against Telegram, alleging that its Gram token offering was indeed an unlicensed securities sale. Hence, it delayed the launching of TON blockchain, despite Telegram’s denial that the tokens are securities.

At the moment, the SEC is claiming that Telegram needs to provide the records requested in the new filing as they will help in the ongoing case:

“The requested bank records are highly relevant to the issues in dispute in this case, including how much money Telegram has spent, and in what manner, in developing the TON Blockchain, the Telegram Messenger application to be integrated with the TON Blockchain, and related applications.”

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