Investors File $159 Million Lawsuit Against Valeri Korotkov Over Gram Token Sales

A group of investors has reportedly asked a High Court in London to convict Valeri Korotkov, a Russian businessman residing in England, for duping them of profits generated from their investment in Telegram’s Gram tokens.

Per a Nov. 28  report by Law360, the investors, which include companies based in Liechtenstein, the Marshall Islands, and the United Arab Emirates, made the allegations in court documents filed on Nov. 7.

The investors noted that they lent $15 million to Korotkov’s company, Aluxes Holdings, to help them buy rights to receive Grams, the native cryptocurrency planned by messaging platform, Telegram.

The original agreement, as alleged by the investors, is that the proceeds from the investments would be assigned to a subsidiary to hold on their behalf.

However, the court filing argues that Korotkov had no plans to honor the terms discussed with investors. Instead, he allegedly made fraudulent misrepresentations by suggesting he had no interest in investing in the token and that his company, which was based in Cyprus, would only operate as an investment vehicle for the investors.

Per the filing:

Korotkov “intended to obtain funds from the investors under the pretense of entering into such a transaction and then ensuring Aluxes would obtain the grams purchases using the investors’ money for its own benefit.”

Court Requests

Law360 confirmed that the investors are seeking exemplary damages of $159 million, the projected value of the Gram tokens when Telegram eventually releases them.

Additionally, the investors want the court to rescind the loan agreements they had with Korotkov and issue an order which allows them to become the rightful owners of the Gram tokens and thus receive them when they are released.

Meanwhile, the latest lawsuit comes at a moment when Telegram is in a heated battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the status of the planned Gram tokens.

As Coinfomania reported, the U.S regulator alleged that the tokens qualify as securities under local laws and thus should not be allowed to flood the market.