US reality star, Kim Kardashian has agreed to pay a $1.26 million fine after unlawfully pushing a cryptocurrency on Instagram without revealing that she was paid to do so, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced Monday.
The agency accused Kardashian, who has 331 million followers on Instagram making her one of the top ten most followed people on the global social network of failing to disclose that she was paid $250,000 to post about EMAX tokens, the crypto asset security being offered by Ethereum ax.
The fine includes a penalty of $1 million plus $260,000, representing the amount Kardashian paid plus interest, the SEC said in a statement. She also agreed not to promote any crypto asset securities for three years.
Kardashian provided the following statement about the charges and the settlement via her representation:
Ms. Kardashian is pleased to have resolved this matter with the SEC. Kardashian fully cooperated with the SEC from the very beginning and she remains willing to do whatever she can to assist the SEC in this matter. She wanted to get this matter behind her to avoid a protracted dispute. The agreement she reached with the SEC allows her to do that so that she can move forward with her many different business pursuits.
Writing by Fany Olumoye, Editing by Omotola Oguneye