On April 13, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) posted a Notice of Covered Action (NCA) for settled charges against Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC. The CFTC charged Goldman with violations of swap Business Conduct Standards and the company agreed to pay $15 million to settle the charges.
A NCA signals that the CFTC Whistleblower Office is accepting whistleblower award claims for the covered enforcement action. Individuals have 90 days from the posting of an NCA to file a claim.
Through the CFTC Whistleblower Program, qualified whistleblowers, individuals who voluntarily provide original information that leads to a successful enforcement action, are entitled to a monetary award of 10-30% of the funds collected by the CFTC in the enforcement action.
The CFTC announced the settled charges against Goldman on April 10. According to the press release, “the CFTC found that Goldman failed to disclose dozens of pre-trade-mid-market marks (PTMMM), in violation of Regulation 23.431, and failed to communicate to clients in a fair and balanced manner based on principles of fair dealing and good faith, in violation of Regulation 23.433.”
“The purpose of the CFTC’s Business Conduct Standards is to promote transparency and fairness in the swaps market. The CFTC is committed to ensuring that swap dealers abide by these standards, so that swap counterparties receive disclosures allowing them to assess material aspects of the swaps before entering into them. As today’s penalty against Goldman demonstrates, the CFTC will aggressively pursue swap dealers that violate these business conduct standards,” said Director of Enforcement Ian P. McGinley.
The CFTC’s enforcement results for Fiscal Year 2022 highlighted the key role the agency’s whistleblower program plays in enforcement efforts. “The Whistleblower Program’s importance to the DOE continued to grow in terms of leads, successful enforcement actions, and whistleblower awards,” the CFTC release states.
Overall, the CFTC has awarded over $330 million to whistleblowers and whistleblowers have helped the agency recover over $3 billion in sanctions.
Further Reading:
Notice of Covered Action No. 2023-003 – Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC