Non-Registrant Sanctions: CFTC Taking Actions for Failure to File Required Reports

Non-Registrants face many CFTC rules and regulations, and increasingly the obligation to file certain reporting forms, including Forms 204 and 304. Violations of these obligations have been highlighted recently in several CFTC enforcement actions, including CHS Inc., Marubeni America Corporation, and most recently Agrocorp International Pte Ltd. and Golden Agri International Pte Ltd.

Non-Registrant knowledge and understanding of the very technical and sometimes contradictory reporting minutia. If you have questions regarding CFTC Forms 204 and 304, Regulation 19.01, or any other CFTC rule or regulation, please contact Braden Perry with Kennyhertz Perry, LLC’s Commodities, Futures, and Derivatives, and Government Enforcement practice groups, where roots of the practice are in the commodities markets, where Mr. Perry spent time as a CFTC Senior Trial Attorney.  Kennyhertz Perry lawyers regularly advise our clients on compliance with the complex laws and regulations governing the securities and derivatives industries, including the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, the Commodity Exchange Act, and CFTC regulations, and the rules of the derivatives exchanges and clearinghouses and other industry self-regulatory organizations. Kennyhertz Perry lawyers guide clients on comment-making about proposed legislation and regulation, provide ongoing operational and compliance counseling, and offer advice on modifications of transaction structure and documentation. Mr. Perry also brings his enforcement experience and his substantial prior experience in white collar criminal defense practice, and represents corporate clients and individual officers and directors at every stage of government investigations and enforcement actions – including white collar criminal matters – initiated by state and federal agencies, including the CFTC and NFA.

CFTC Enforcement Action Targets Company for Failure to File CFTC Form 204

In another enforcement action involving failure to file CFTC from 2014 as required by CFTC Regulation 19.01, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ordered Golden Agri International Pte Ltd. to pay $150,000. This follows similar actions against farm co-op CHS Inc. and Marubeni America Corporation and is a reminder to reportable market participants of their ongoing legal obligation to comply in a timely manner with Regulation 19.01, which prescribes the form and manner for submitting Form 204 reports to the Commission for wheat, corn, oats, soybeans, soybean oil, and soybean meal. Regulation 19.01(b) requires that the Form 204 report be made monthly by the close of business on the last Friday of the month, and filed with the Commission’s Office in Chicago, IL by the third business day following the date of the report or via facsimile, telephone, or mail. 

Failure to file Form 204 reports in a timely manner and follow instructions constitutes a violation of Regulation 19.01, which is actionable under the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”) and Commission regulations and these actions show that enforcement proceedings will brought against nonconforming companies. 

If you have questions regarding CFTC Form 204, Regulation 19.01(b), or any other CFTC rule or regulation, please contact Braden Perry with Kennyhertz Perry, LLC’s Commodities, Futures, and Derivatives, and Government Enforcement practice groups, where roots of the practice are in the commodities markets, where Mr. Perry spent time as a CFTC Senior Trial Attorney.  Kennyhertz Perry lawyers regularly advise our clients on compliance with the complex laws and regulations governing the securities and derivatives industries, including the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, the Commodity Exchange Act, and CFTC regulations, and the rules of the derivatives exchanges and clearinghouses and other industry self-regulatory organizations. Kennyhertz Perry lawyers guide clients on comment-making about proposed legislation and regulation, provide ongoing operational and compliance counseling, and offer advice on modifications of transaction structure and documentation. Mr. Perry also brings his enforcement experience and his substantial prior experience in white collar criminal defense practice, and represents corporate clients and individual officers and directors at every stage of government investigations and enforcement actions – including white collar criminal matters – initiated by state and federal agencies, including the CFTC and NFA.

Former CFTC Enforcement Attorney Braden Perry Discusses Revamped CFTC Manipulation Test

Kraft Foods Group and Mondelez Global made headlines last year being charged with market manipulation by the CFTC. At the time, Braden Perry, a former CFTC Senior Trial Attorney and Kennyhertz Perry, LLC partner spoke with McGraw Hill about the meaning of this battle between a regulator and a large end user and participant in the commodities market.

Mr. Perry continues to talk about the CFTC’s new anti-manipulation standard, this time discussing cryptocurrency and the CFTC’s expansive jurisdiction, recently speaking to the Conference of Western Attorneys General (“CWAG”) involving the potential for actions involving manipulation or attempted manipulation on the Bitcoin spot market. CWAG invited Mr. Perry to their 2016 Digital Currency Symposium as a digital currency expert discussing regulatory and enforcement issues with digital currencies and the blockchain.

McGraw Hill Global Institute Podcast Features Kennyhertz Perry Partner Braden Perry on the Latest CFTC Spoofing Case against Igor Oystacher and 3Red Trading

Braden Perry and McGraw Hill Financial Global Institute President John Kingston recently spoke about spoofing in the markets and the CFTC’s latest case against Chicago Trader Igor B. Oystacher and his proprietary trading company, 3Red Trading LLC, with spoofing and employment of a manipulative and deceptive device while trading E-Mini S&P 500, copper, crude oil, natural gas, and VIX futures Contracts.  We also explored the latest CFTC trends and topics , including the CFTC’s expanding jurisdiction.

The McGraw Hill Financial Global Institute’s mission is to support the advancement of open and transparent capital and commodity markets, increased economic opportunity for individuals, communities and nations and to address other societal issues and trends contributing to global growth and prosperity.

To listen to the podcast, visit https://www.mhfi.com/mhfi-global-institute/institute-insight-podcasts/CFTC-Levels-a-Charge-of-Spoofing-What-Does-It-Mean-For-Trading.html

Kennyhertz Perry, LLC Partner Braden Perry Discusses CFTC Jurisdiction with Law360.com

Law360 featured former U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Senior Trial Attorney Braden Perry in a news article entitled, “CFTC Muscles Its Way To New Regulatory Turf.”  Perry discussed the aggressiveness of the CFTC  in attempting to expand its jurisdiction with products such as Bitcoin: “They claim that they are underfunded yet they are going after bitcoin, a new jurisdictional hurdle.”