The Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank) is settling major criminal and civil charges that it engaged in price-fixing and spoofing efforts via precious metals futures contracts. The Toronto-based bank has signed separate agreements with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), with the combined fines totaling approximately $127.5 million. The… Read More >>
Commerzbank, CFTC Settle Swap Ops Case for $12M
Commerzbank A.G. and the CFTC have agreed to settle allegations that the German bank failed to properly supervise its swap dealer activities, and then made misleading statements and material omissions to the CFTC about swap operations and compliance with key laws and regulations. A recently issued CFTC order compels Commerzbank, provisionally registered with the regulator… Read More >>
CFTC Clarifies Staff Ownership of Crypto Coins
Markets and venues for trading instruments based upon cryptocurrencies are emerging almost daily and CFTC officials have been trying to stay on top of this phenomenon via new policies and guidances, including a recent memo for CFTC staff that specifies the parameters of cryptocurrency ownership. Initial media reports implied that CFTC staffers would be set… Read More >>
Cryptocurrency Transactions & Operations Start to Emerge
Malta-based Exante, an online foreign exchange, futures, and stocks retail brokerage, has added five cryptocurrency assets onto its terminal -– Litecoin, Ethereum, Monero, Zcash, and Ripple. They join its Bitcoin instruments, which were the first regulated cryptocurrency to make their debut four years ago. The global market for cryptocurrency-based instruments is rapidly gaining ground as… Read More >>
Citi Pays $25 Million Penalty for Spoofing
The CFTC has fined Citigroup Global Markets Inc. $25 million for spoofing, citing the actions of traders and managers who demonstrated a lack of proper supervision, training and regulatory compliance. Spoofing, the commission says, is “bidding or offering with the intent to cancel the bid or offer before execution.” In this case, the spoofing took… Read More >>
Binary-Options Firms Fined $4.58M, Banned from Trading
Two web-based binary-options firms, Vault Options, Ltd. and Global Trader 365, have been hit with a $3 million civil monetary penalty, plus $1,587,731 in restitution, and have been banned from future trading, for defrauding their customers and violating the Commodity Exchange Act. The two companies, both based in Israel, apparently are no longer doing business… Read More >>
CFTC Pays Whistleblower $10 Million
Does it pay to be a whistleblower? The answer to that question may increasingly be in the affirmative as the CFTC just announced an award of “more than $10 million to a whistleblower who provided key original information that led to a successful CFTC enforcement action,” officials say. “The award is the largest made by… Read More >>
Credit Suisse to Pay $665,000 for Futures Violation
U.S. commodities trading regulator the CFTC has ordered a payment of penalties totaling $665,000 from Credit Suisse International (CSI) for violating a speculative position limit for wheat futures and from Credit Suisse Securities (CSS-USA) for allegedly submitting misleading information to the regulator about the incident. The CFTC charged that the London-based CSI “exceeded the CFTC… Read More >>
SEC and CFTC Reinforce Whistleblower Programs
U.S. regulators the SEC and the CFTC are reaffirming their commitment to make their whistleblower systems more accessible to industry participants and financially rewarding. Most recently, the SEC has given a whistleblower an award of more than $700,000 to “a company outsider who conducted a detailed analysis that led to a successful SEC enforcement action,”… Read More >>
