US CFTC Rounded Up Over $1.3B in Regulatory Penalties in 2019, 40% More Than the Previous Year

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the derivatives regulator in the US, has collected over $1.3 billion in regulatory and administrative penalties in the fiscal year of 2019, including funds collected from cryptocurrency businesses, which ended on Sept. 30.  

In the annual report released by the CFTC Division of Enforcement, the regulator stated that 69 actions were brought during the fiscal year of 2019, noting a slight increase over the average of 67.5 in the previous five fiscal years.  

The result in regulatory penalties has also increased by 40% compared to the fiscal year of 2018, of around $947 million.  

James McDonald, the Director of Enforcement at the CFTC, said: “The breadth and significance of the enforcement activity in FY 2019 is reflected in the fact that the filed cases involved some of the most significant commodities fraud, manipulation and spoofing cases in the history of the agency.” 

McDonald also added that the CFTC will continue to work against fraudsters and will “operate in parallel with our criminal law enforcement colleagues.” 

Several charges were pointed out, including the $147 million crypto scheme Control-Finance Ltd, Jon Barry Thompson, who was accused of a $7 million Bitcoin-related fraud, and Joseph Kim, who was charged with defrauding investors. However, the CFTC did not specify the exact amount of regulatory penalties obtained from these companies.  

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