The SEC is asking the court to recover more than $16 million from the Russian portal ICOBox.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is asking the court to recover over $16 million in restitution and fines from Russian crypto rating portal ICOBox and its founder, Nikolai Evdokimov, Finance Feeds reports, citing documents filed by the regulator in the Central District Court of California on January 9.

These include a motion for default judgment in favor of the plaintiff, which states that ICOBox and Evdokimov are accused of illegally offering securities through the sale of $14 million in tokens and providing brokerage services without registration for offering other digital assets.

According to the SEC's motion, ICOBox and Evdokimov must repay the $14.6 million they raised in violation of the law, as well as pay pre-judgment interest of $1,459,428.99. The defendants must pay the SEC $16,059,429.99 within 14 days of the judgment. Evdokimov must also be assessed a civil penalty of $189,426.

As a reminder, the SEC accuses ICOBox and Evdokimov of illegally selling ICOS tokens to more than 2,000 investors. ICOS holders were offered the opportunity to participate in the ICO on the ICOBox platform and purchase tokens at discounted prices.

“ICOBox and Evdokimov told investors that proceeds from the token sale would be used to cover costs associated with ICOBox's planned services for digital asset startups that could not afford them. The defendant claimed that ICOBox would be successful and that ICOS tokens would have value thanks to the efforts of ICOBox's management. By ignoring registration requirements under federal securities laws, ICOBox and Evdokimov allowed investors to make investments that are now effectively worthless without providing information critical to making informed investment decisions,” the regulator previously reported.