The United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has new regulatory limitations when it comes to punishing defendants with fines. The ruling would have altered the fines sought in some notable recent cryptocurrency-related cases.
According to a June 23 summary of the U.S. Supreme Court case Liu v. SEC in the National Law Review, the court ruled the SEC can not impose fines—known as disgorgements—that exceed the profits made from illegal activities. In addition, such penalties can only be “awarded for the benefit of victims”, not imposed as punitive damages.