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Russian private equity firm Da Vinci Capital is suing Telegram for damages resulting from Ton's failure

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Da Vinci Capital is seeking $20 million in damages from Telegram.

Russian private equity firm Da Vinci Capital has filed a lawsuit against Telegram in a London court on May 25, seeking to recoup the money it invested in the Gram token, which has been unsuccessful in its launch.

According to previous information, Telegram sold $1.7 billion worth of Gram tokens in 2018, when Gram tokens were planned as the native token of Telegram's launched blockchain network TON. But then the SEC sued the program, and after months of fighting, Telegram announced a settlement with the SEC and ended the program. Under the terms of the settlement, Telegram promised to pay a fine ($18.5m) and return $1.22bn of $1.7bn (72 per cent of the initial investment) to investors.

Da Vinci Capital, which is based in Moscow and registered in Guernsey, specialises in private investments in technology companies. Da Vinci Capital brought together 50 investors through a subsidiary called Disruptive Era Technologies, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit against Telegram. Agreed to buy Gram, valued at $72,136,000, and eventually paid Telegram $45.4 million.

In late February, Da Vinci Capital investors sent Telegram founder Pavel Durov, vice president Ilya Perekopsky, and other company executives and lawyers a letter to Ton Inc. Notice of intention to lodge a claim. They are seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages for failed projects.

According to a source close to Telegram, the investors are demanding a refund of $20 million, and according to a lawyer representing Telegram's interests, their chances of success are slim "because the agreement clearly specifies the costs and risks".