Ripple seems determined to push the legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into a decisive victory in its favor.
As such, the company recently hired a renowned lawyer who could help in that mission.
James K. Filan – a defense lawyer and formal federal prosecutor – took it to X (Twitter) to reveal that Rahul Mukhi will represent Ripple and its CEO Brad Garlinghouse in its ongoing lawsuit with America’s securities regulator.
Mukhi has a rich experience in the field, having served as Assistant United States Attorney between 2010 and 2016. He later became a counsel and partner at the international law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.
Over the past decade, Mukhi has led significant cases involving financial and tax fraud, public corruption, cybercrime, money laundering, and organized crime.
The legal dispute started in December 2020 when the SEC filed a lawsuit, accusing Ripple of trading billions of dollars worth of XRP as a security without registering with the Commission.
The heated battle passed through numerous stages in the following years as both entities fired shots at each other. However, Ripple seems to have a serious advantage since it secured a vital but yet partial win in July when a US court ruled that most of its XRP sales did not constitute an offer of investment contracts.
The SEC formally appealed the decision at the beginning of September, hinting that the fight is far from over. Some crypto analysts have argued that Ripple will manage to emerge victorious as the watchdog’s request might hit a dead end. One such example is the popular trader using the X handle KALEO.