Following a longer than expected break, here is a catch up on anti abuse activities of interest over the past weeks since our previous post on the topic here.

The UK’s FCA has published a report on enforcements over 2020/2021 compared to previous periods. The report, which can be found here, shows a slight decline in fines and notices over the past year.

Cysec, the National Competent Authority of Cyprus, has fined a firm €40,000 for a breach of MAR. The fine is for “improper monitoring” under Article 16(2), which requires that firms ” maintain effective arrangements and procedures to detect and report suspicious orders and transactions”. The decision in English can be found here.

Ofgem, the National Regulatory Authority of Great Britain, has opened a consultation on changes to REMIT Penalties Statement and REMIT Procedural Guidelines, which can be found here. It covers changes to the procedural guidelines relating to matters such as how and by whom breaches of REMIT are investigated, as well as how penalties are derived, with changes to, for example the “settlement windows” of fines.

ICE Futures Europe has suspended a trader for two years and fined him £100,000 for pre arranged trading. The notice can be found here. The fine was later lifted due to inability to pay.

The CFTC has fined a firm $1.5m for exceeding the CFTC’s position limits for soybean meal futures contracts traded on CBOT and for failing to comply with reporting and recordkeeping obligations regarding its cash positions in grain. The CFTC press release can be found here and the order here.

A judge has ruled that four traders formerly of JP Morgan must face charges in relation to the case involving spoofing in precious metals futures which involved a fine of $920m (see here). An article on the Reuters web site about the ruling can be found here. Two other traders have been convicted by a jury of wire fraud in relation to spoofing in precious metals futures. The decision can be found here. FERC announced here that a hearing would be convened to determine if Total Gas & Power North America, Inc. broke market manipulation rules in Natural Gas on several occasions. The hearing is to take place within 45 days.

The CME has fined the Mercantile Exchange of Vietnam for enabling customer wash trades. The notice can be found here. More information on this and related fines can be found on the DCM Blog here (30 July entry).

ICE Futures Europe has fined a selection of firms £5,000 each for failing to maintain proper administrative information. The notice can be found here.

It appears that the worldwide trend to enforce the rules that have been evolving over the past years is continuing.