Telegram to pay fine and return $1.2 billion to investors to settle SEC charges

Telegram Group has agreed to an $18.5 million civil settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and to return $1.2 billion to investors to resolve charges over an unregistered digital token coin offering, the SEC said in a statement on Friday.

In October 2019 the SEC filed a complaint against Telegram alleging the company had raised capital through the sale of 2.9 billion Grams, on its TON (Telegram Open Network) blockchain, to finance its business.

"I want to conclude this post by wishing luck to all those striving for decentralisation, balance and equality in the world. You are fighting the right battle. This battle may well be the most important battle of our generation. We hope that you succeed where we have failed." wrote Pavel Durov, creator of Telegram, announcing the shutdown of its TON blockchain platform.