Detect and prevent violations of Federal commodity laws.
Require commodity professionals to meet high standards.
Provide a forum for customer complaints against firms and persons registered under the Act.
Strategies:
Investigate and prosecute wrongdoing. The Commission identifies, investigates, and brings enforcement actions regarding possible fraudulent and other illegal activities relating to retail forex transactions and the commodity futures and option markets. The Administrative Law Judges will continue to hear and decide administrative enforcement cases brought by the Commission against persons or firms charged with violating the Act or Commission rules and regulations.
Inform the public concerning violators. Allegations of wrongdoing and associated legal actions are publicized and communicated to the industry and the public in order to ensure informed market users.
Provide a forum to bring complaints. The Commission provides a reparations program for commodity futures and option market users to resolve complaints concerning possible violations of the Act. Approximately 50-60 reparations cases are filed per year. Presently, the cases are maintained in the Reparations Case Tracking System (Repcase), which houses all filings relating to the complaints, as well as reparations sanctions information. The Office is transitioning to Practice Manager, a Project eLaw automated tool that will assist staff in managing the reparations complaints more efficiently and effectively. In FY 2010, we anticipate that Practice Manager will replace Repcase for new cases filed after the implementation date.
Information regarding the Reparations program is available on the Commission’s Web site and information regarding the various reparations documents that have been filed or issued by a Presiding Officer or the Commission is available internally to Commission staff. In FY 2010, dispositions from 1997 through the present will be available through the Web site.
Oversee the NFA’s registration program. The Commission oversees the NFA’s registration program, requiring testing, licensing, and ethics training for commodity futures and option professionals. CFTC maintains a strong working relationship with the NFA, including joint representation on the Registration Working Group (RWG).
Review regulations and amend or abolish as appropriate. In order to ensure that the regulations enforced by the Commission are reflective of the needs of the industry and the public, the Commission reviews and adapts its regulations with the evolving conditions and changes in the industry.
Monitor media. The Internet and other media venues are monitored for fraudulent activities and other possible violations of the Act.
Maintain cooperative relationships. Strong working relationships with the exchanges, the NFA, other Federal agencies, state governments and law enforcement entities, and foreign authorities maintain the Commission’s ability to gain information for regulatory and law enforcement purposes and to provide enforcement assistance as necessary and appropriate.