Release Number 7790-18
September 14, 2018
CFTC Files 12 Enforcement Actions Addressing Registration, Position Limits, Recordkeeping, Supervision and Reporting
Washington, DC—The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued 12 Orders today filing and simultaneously settling charges against various respondents for violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (Act) and Commission Regulations (Regulations), including for position limits, recordkeeping, registration, reporting, and failure to supervise violations, as set forth below and as more fully described in the related press releases for each Order.
CFTC Director of Enforcement Comments
James McDonald, CFTC Director of Enforcement, stated: “These Orders reflect the CFTC’s commitment to protecting the public by enforcing the recordkeeping, registration, reporting, and supervision requirements in the Act and Regulations. These requirements are critical to the CFTC’s mission to protect market participants and to ensure market integrity: (i) on the front end, by requiring entities and individuals to register with the CFTC prior to doing business in the commodities markets, (ii) on an ongoing basis by requiring registrants to diligently supervise their employees and ensure compliance with the Act and Regulations, and (iii) on the back end by ensuring proper records are maintained and made available to the CFTC, allowing fraud and other misconduct to be detected and remediated. As these actions show, the Commission will continue to vigorously enforce these requirements.”
Forex, Binary Options, OTC Swaps and Commodity Options Dealers Registration Violations
- Orders Filed Today
CFTC Charges Multiple Forex and Binary Options Dealers with Registration Violations
The CFTC today issued Orders filing and simultaneously settling charges against eight unregistered entities and eight individuals that were offering forex and binary options to retail investors located in the United States.
- Allen Investment Management LLC
- Forex Entourage LLC
- HedgeFund4U, LLC
- Hooley Solutions LLC
- International Markets Live, Inc.
- LegionFX LLC
- The Lion’s Share FX
- Wealth Generators LLC
The CFTC today issued an Order filing and simultaneously settling charges against Mobius Risk Group LLC (Mobius) for providing over-the-counter (OTC) swaps and commodity options trading advice without being registered. Mobius is now registered with the Commission as a Commodity Trading Advisor.
- Position Limits Violations
Honouround (HK) International Trade Co. Ltd.
The CFTC today issued an Order filing and simultaneously settling charges against Honouround (HK) International Trade Co. Ltd., a company based in Hong Kong, China, for exceeding the single month and all-month speculative position limits for soybeans futures contracts traded on the Chicago Board of Trade, and for failing to file Form 204s as required. The Order requires Honouround to pay a $300,000 civil monetary penalty.
- Recordkeeping Violations
ABN AMRO Clearing Chicago, LLC
The CFTC today issued an Order filing and simultaneously settling charges against ABN AMRO Clearing Chicago, LLC (AACC), a CFTC-registered futures commission merchant, for improper supervision and recordkeeping violations. The Order requires AACC to pay a $160,000 civil monetary penalty.
- Swap Reporting Violations
The CFTC today issued an Order filing and simultaneously settling charges against NatWest Markets Plc (NatWest), formerly The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, a provisionally registered swap dealer, for failing to comply with its swap transaction reporting obligations as a swap dealer. According to the Order, NatWest failed to report on a timely basis and misreported hundreds of thousands of transactions to a swap dealer repository. The Order imposes a $750,000 civil monetary penalty on NatWest, among other sanctions, for these reporting violations.