Episode 315 - Boeing Pays $51 Million for ITAR Violations
The three operating divisions of the CFTC (Division of Market Oversight, Market Participants Division, and the Division of Clearing and Risk, together the Operating Divisions) issued an advisory on April 17, explaining the...more
On April 7, 2025, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a memo (the “Blanche Memo”) announcing the Trump administration’s Department of Justice (“DOJ”) refocus of enforcement policies related to investigations and...more
In the dynamic world of financial regulation, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has been actively addressing market manipulation with enforcement actions to ensure market integrity. The CFTC's recent settlement...more
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) has now joined the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in taking a stand against broad non-disclosure provisions in employment agreements....more
Last week, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment against global cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin and two of its founders, Chun Gan and Ke Tang, for allegedly conspiring...more
Regulators with the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) have fined JP Morgan Chase & Co. a combined total of $348.2 million over the bank’s failure to monitor client trading activities...more
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform, has recently been hit with a staggering $4.3 billion fine for intentionally violating anti-money laundering laws and other financial regulations. This landmark...more
On September 7, 2023, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced the settlement of three separate enforcement actions in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space: namely, concerning the Opyn protocol and its...more
As the rules and procedures are being developed through cases of first impression, thousands of DAOs and other crypto enthusiasts are watching the CFTC v. Ooki DAO legal battle for clues about how our legal system will treat...more
On October 21, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) Commissioner Caroline D. Pham issued a concurring statement to the CFTC’s amended complaint originally filed on April 27, 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the...more
On September 27, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) issued orders to settle charges against 11 major U.S. and international financial institutions and their swap dealer (“SD”) and futures commission merchant...more
On September 22, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) asserted its jurisdiction over a decentralized autonomous organization (“DAO”) and its founders, signaling for the industry that even an unincorporated...more
Cryptocurrency and digital assets have kept the courts and regulators busy as digital assets continue to pose new questions and challenges for anyone involved in their sale, trade or development. The following trends have...more
Once in a while, a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) enforcement action confirms market participants’ worst fears that the CFTC is prepared to, and is able to, find violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”)...more
On June 24, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) sanctioned Starberry Limited, a Cyprus entity, for operating in the U.S. as an unregistered futures commission merchant (“FCM”) and ordered it to pay $1.3 million...more
Established in 1974 in Washington, D.C., the CFTC was originally responsible for overseeing and regulating the commodity futures and options markets in the United States. Initially, its primary focus was to regulate trading...more
The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission had another record year of enforcement. In fact, the last four years of FCPA enforcement included two years of record enforcement – 2019 and 2020. After...more
In a coordinated enforcement action with the DOJ, the CFTC filed and simultaneously settled charges against Vitol Inc., the U.S. affiliate of one of the world’s largest energy trading firms. ...more
In a landmark action on December 3, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) announced resolution of its first enforcement action involving foreign corruption by issuing an order and settling charges against...more
Banking regulators have been flexing their muscles. With the coming Biden Administration, this may portend the beginning of a new, enforcement wave. Some have suggested that banks are resolving these cases before a more...more
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or the Commission) Division of Enforcement filed the most enforcement actions in the Commission’s history in fiscal year 2020 (FY 2020). On December 2, 2020, DOE released its...more
Continuing its aggressive enforcement of the anti-spoofing law enacted under the 2010 Dodd Frank Act, the CFTC recently filed an enforcement action—currently being litigated—against Roman Banoczay Jr., Roman Banoczay Sr., and...more
On May 20, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC’s) Division of Enforcement issued new public guidance on civil monetary penalties that is designed to increase transparency in penalty determinations. ...more
Product innovation (including in pooled investment vehicles) is encouraged, but innovation must be consistent with the law. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC’s) Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary...more
Google will pay a “record $170 million fine and make changes to protect children’s privacy on YouTube” as part of a deal it reached this week with the FTC and NY AG’s office, both of whom had accused YouTube of “violating the...more