On October 20, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) released the agency’s enforcement results for Fiscal Year 2022. The CFTC reports that it filed 82 enforcement actions over the course of the fiscal year and imposed over $2.5 billion in restitution, disgorgement and civil monetary penalties. The agency also highlighted the key role the CFTC Whistleblower Program plays in efforts of the Division of Enforcement (DOE).
“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. The agency highlights the record-setting whistleblower award issued by the program in fiscal year 2022. The $200 million award is the largest ever granted under the Dodd-Frank Act.
Through the CFTC Whistleblower Program, qualified whistleblowers, individuals who voluntarily provide original information that contributes to a successful enforcement action, are entitled to monetary awards of 10-30% of the funds collected by the government. In its 2022 enforcement results, the CFTC notes that “with that [$200 million] award and others issued during FY 2022, the total sanctions ordered in all whistleblower-related enforcement actions surpassed the $3 billion milestone.”
The CFTC’s 82 enforcement actions in the 2022 fiscal year covered a number of different types of fraud. In the enforcement results the agency particularly highlights the 18 actions related to digital assets and cryptocurrency fraud. Other areas where the CFTC filed enforcement actions include manipulative and deceptive conduct and spoofing, recordkeeping and supervision, misappropriation of material non-public information, and swaps reporting and swap dealer business conduct.
“In the face of unprecedented financial market conditions directly impacting American consumers, emerging technological disruption, and growing retail investor participation, the CFTC continues its unwavering commitment to a robust enforcement program ensuring the markets we oversee are open, transparent, fair and competitive,” said CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam. “This FY 2022 enforcement report shows the CFTC continues to aggressively police new digital commodity asset markets with all of its available tools. I personally thank the Enforcement Division’s hardworking and dedicated leadership team and staff.”
“As evidenced by the FY 2022 enforcement results, whether measured by the number of new enforcement actions filed or the many hard-fought successful litigations, the Enforcement Division staff’s dedication to protecting customers, ensuring the integrity of the markets, and holding market participants and registrants accountable is unwavering.” said Acting Director of Enforcement Gretchen Lowe. “The Enforcement Division demonstrated its professionalism, expertise and skill through the breadth, complexity and importance of the investigations conducted, the cases filed, and the successes achieved.”
Further Reading:
CFTC Releases Annual Enforcement Results
