For much of 2021, the SEC has been in transition. New Enforcement staff have been settling into their roles since April of 2021, when Gary Gensler was confirmed and sworn in as Chair of the SEC. Under former Chairman Jay...more
While enforcement agencies have yet to indicate that they intend to put their pens down in response to COVID-19, there is anecdotal evidence that some agencies have slowed their investigations as remote working impacts matter...more
On February 25, 2019, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) settled spoofing charges brought against a former trader who pleaded guilty to similar criminal charges last year brought by the U.S. Department of...more
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued a request for input regarding the virtual currency ether. It wants to understand better how bitcoin and ether are different, and any unique qualities of ether (ETH), as it...more
Retail Metals Dealer and Principals Sued by CFTC for Illegal Transactions and Fraud: Monex Deposit Company and two affiliated companies (collectively, “Monex”), and Louis Cabrini and Michael Cabrini, the firms’ principals,...more
Price Protection Is Price Protection Is Price Protection – Unless It’s FCM Activity Says CFTC: Davisco Foods International, Inc., an international cheese and food ingredient company headquartered in Le Sueur, Minnesota,...more
CME Group Settles With Trading Firm for Spoofing-Type Offenses, Holding It Strictly Liable for Acts of Agents; Orders Disgorgement of Profits - CME Group brought and settled disciplinary actions against Geneva Trading...more
Government Seeks Maximum Sentence in Coscia Criminal Action: The United States Attorney’s Office in Chicago requested last week that the judge presiding over the criminal trial of Michel Coscia impose the maximum sentence...more
The CFTC announced that a federal court in New York issued a Consent Order imposing a permanent injunction against CFTC Defendants Heet Khara and Nasim Salim, residents of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), prohibiting them from...more
Asset managers and other traders should expect aggressive anti-spoofing enforcement and consider reviewing their trading practices in light of this most recent development. On November 3, 2015, a federal jury in...more
Potentially abusive trading algorithms, such as algorithms that purportedly engage in “spoofing” or “layering” are the subject of considerable regulatory interest. However, in an interesting complaint filed on October 19,...more
SEC-Sanctioned Trader Began Alleged Spoofing After Complaining About Spoofing by Others to NYSE - Eric Oscher and Briargate Trading, LLC, a company 50 percent owned by Mr. Oscher, agreed to pay an aggregate fine of US...more
ESMA Publishes Final Technical Standards for MiFID II - The European Securities and Markets Authority issued the equivalent of final rules (known as “technical standards”) to implement three cornerstones of the European...more
Alleged Flash Crasher's Formal Indictment Provides More Details Regarding His Purported Spoofing - The US Department of Justice filed a formal indictment against Navinder Singh Sarao in a US federal court in Chicago on...more
CME Group Files Disciplinary Actions for Trading Ahead of Block Trades and Failure to Supervise an Employee Engaging in Disruptive Trading Activities - In two cases of first impression, CME Group exchanges brought and...more
ESMA Says “No for Now” to Granting Passport Rights to US Fund Managers Under AIFMD: The European Securities and Markets Authority told the European Commission last week that it was premature to grant passport rights to...more
Et tu, CFE? CBOE Futures Proposes Amended Disruptive Practices Rules and New Related Policies and Procedures: CBOE Futures Exchange became the latest designated contract market to propose specific rules to ban disruptive...more
NJ-Based Trader Previously Sanctioned by UK FCA, CFTC and CME Indicted in Chicago for Same Spoofing Offenses - New Jersey resident Michael Coscia, the prior manager and sole owner of Panther Energy Trading LLC, was...more
A federal grand jury in Chicago recently indicted high-frequency trader Michael J. Coscia for “spoofing,” making it the first criminal case ever brought under the Dodd-Frank Act’s rules against disruptive trading practices....more
By order dated July 22, 2013, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) settled charges against Panther Energy Trading LLC and its principal Michael Coscia for engaging in the disruptive trading practice...more