Activity in the anti abuse sphere continues, in addition to the large REMIT fine levied in France last week (see here). In the UK, the FCA published this Decision Notice, which reveals a fine of  £409,300 levied on a firm (Linear Investments Limited) for failure to have adequate “risk management systems in relation to the detection and reporting of potential instances of market abuse”. The fine includes relying on brokers to perform post trade surveillance, which is not adequate under MAR, and for improper calibration when using a surveillance system, once one was in place. The fine follows a larger fine for failure to monitor levied by the FCA earlier this year (see here).

In the US, there have been several fines, convictions and investigations: The DCM Blog reports here that the CME has levied fines and both temporary and permanent bans on several traders for placing orders with no intention of execution and other disruptive practices on NYMEX and COMEX, spanning both manual and algorithmic activity. The notices can be found here and here.  Separately, the US Department of Justice has charged three commodities traders with several “spoofing” offences, as reported here on the Bloomberg web site. This article , also on Bloomberg, reports that two traders involved in the LIBOR rigging scandal have been found guilty of several offences. According to the article there is still a chance of the verdict being overturned.

Given recent trends, it is likely that we will see more cases and related news over the coming weeks.