Empower Oversight Whistleblowers & Research (EMPOWR), a watchdog organization, has filed a complaint against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to obtain access to communications between former SEC officials and their ex and current employers according to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The lawsuit accused the ex-SEC authorities of having a possible conflict of interests in terms of cryptocurrency investments.
The complaint specified the names of the former SEC leaders such as Jay Clayton, Marc Berger, and William Hinman. Hinman had prior associations with law firm Simpson Thacher as a partner before he entered the SEC in 2017, however, he returned to Simpson Thacher after leaving the SEC in October 2020. Similarly, Berger became a partner at Simpson Thacher post retiring from the SEC in 2021, and Clayton joined the cryptocurrency hedge fund One River Asset Management in 2021. EMPOWR has suggested that Simpson Thacher was a strict advocate of the ‘Enterprise Ethereum Alliance’, which was dedicated to advancing the Ethereum across the world. What is more, the complaint mentions that Hinman was suspected to have earned millions from the law firm at the time of his SEC job.
According to the suit, in Hinman's former role he audaciously stated that Ether (ETH) is a commodity, whereas the value of ETH leapt to significant heights after his presentation. Documents mentioning this speech became a cause of debate between the SEC and Ripple Labs in the organization’s claim that the sale of Ripple’s XRP coin contravenes with U.S. related laws.
The lawsuit is not the only legal action taken by EMPOWR after the first FOIA request in August 2021. The SEC provided noncommittal responses to four of the eight requested documentation sessions. However, they subsequently accepted the error after they located 1,000 pages of emails. When the SEC refused to widen the search, EMPOWR filed another FOIA request in December 2022. As of today, the recent suit is intended to obtain a reply to the mentioned request.
Alexander Taylor
- 2023-05-11
EMPOWR vs. SEC: Lawsuit to Access Communications Filed
EMPOWR, a watchdog organization, has filed a complaint against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to access communications between former SEC officials and their ex and current employers due to possible conflict of interests.
