CFTC Regulations, 29 January 2018
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today issued an Order filing and settling charges against Deutsche Bank AG (DB AG) and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. (DBSI) (collectively, DB), requiring DB to pay a $30 million civil monetary penalty and to undertake remedial relief. The Order finds that from at least February 2008 and continuing through at least September 2014, DB AG, by and through certain precious metals traders (Traders), engaged in a scheme to manipulate the price of precious metals futures contracts by utilizing a variety of manual spoofing techniques with respect to precious metals futures contracts traded on the Commodity Exchange, Inc. (COMEX), and by trading in a manner to trigger customer stop-loss orders.
James McDonald, the CFTC’s Director of Enforcement, commented: “Today’s enforcement action demonstrates that the Commission will aggressively pursue entities that manipulate and spoof in our markets. Further, as a reflection of the Division’s enhanced self-reporting and cooperation program, today’s action shows that the Commission will recognize and give meaningful credit to companies that substantially cooperate in our investigations and proactively undertake remedial efforts. The ultimate goal of the Division’s cooperation program is to enable the Division to identify and hold accountable the individuals responsible for the wrongdoing—and not just the companies that employed them. Today’s actions represent a significant step in that direction.”
