Today in cryptocurrencies: Which developments stood out?

Malaysian authorities have begun cracking down on crypto investors trying to avoid taxes. Ripple’s legal representatives filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ) argued for a smaller fine, citing his recent lawsuit against Terraform Labs. But a day later, the regulator refuted this claim in a letter to Judge Torres.

Malaysia cracks down on crypto tax evaders

The Malaysian federal agency, the Internal Revenue Board (IRB), has implemented a special operation called “Ops Token” to reduce tax revenue leakage from crypto trading.

According to local reports, 38 workers from the Royal Malaysian Police and Cyber ​​Security Malaysia (CSM) raided 10 different locations in the Klang Valley. IRB said:

“Thanks to the operation, cryptocurrency trading data stored on portable devices and computers was found and we successfully determined the value of the digital assets traded, which resulted in a very valuable tax revenue leak.”

IRB CEO Datuk Abu Tariq Jamaluddin warned crypto traders to properly declare their crypto taxes at nearby IRB offices as soon as possible before the IRB takes regulatory action.

SEC refutes Ripple’s lower penalty claim

The United States Securities and Exchange Committee criticized Ripple Labs’ latest argument for a lower penalty, arguing that it would not be enough.

Last week, Ripple referenced the SEC’s settlement with Terraform Labs when it sought a penalty of “not more than $10 million” from New York District Court Judge Analisa Torres on June 13; This is much lower than the regulator’s proposed $876.3 million fine.

But the SEC argued in a June 14 letter to Judge Torres that the two cases should not be an “apples-to-apples comparison” and that the proposed lower sentence “will not meet the aspirations of civil sentencing statutes.” SEC said.

The total penalties proposed by the SEC for Ripple are approximately $2 billion, of which $198.2 million is pre-judgment interest, $876.3 million is a civil penalty, and $876.3 million is compensation.

The two have been fighting in court since 2020 after the SEC said Ripple was selling unregistered securities, which Judge Torres agreed, but only when sold to institutional investors.

Ripple lawyers seek appropriate civil penalty in ongoing lawsuit

Ripple ‘s legal counsel has asked a court to consider “appropriate” fines in its case with the US SEC. In a filing filed June 13 in the U.S. Southern District of New York, Ripple’s lawyers filed a notice of additional jurisdiction, arguing the “unreasonableness” of the SEC seeking large fines.

While presenting their case, the lawyers referred to the $4.5 billion settlement reached between the securities regulator and Terraform Labs earlier this week. The SEC demanded a penalty of approximately $2 billion from Ripple. However, the blockchain company argued that it should not have to pay more than $10 million in penalties.

“As Ripple’s dissent explains, in comparable (and even more egregious) cases, the SEC has adopted fines ranging from 0.6 percent to 1.8 percent of the defendant’s gross revenue,” Ripple’s lawyers said. “Terraform fits this model. Here, the SEC is seeking a fine well above this range, even though there is no argument of fraud in this case and Institutional Buyers did not suffer significant losses.”