Page 16 - 期货和衍生品行业监管动态（2024年9月刊）

期货和衍生品行业监管动态

CFTC Orders Swiss Energy Trader to Pay $48 Million for Attempted Market
Manipulation (2024/8/27)

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today issued an order filing and

simultaneously settling charges against TOTSA TotalEnergies Trading SA, formerly

known as TOTSA Total Oil Trading SA (TOTSA), for attempting to manipulate the

market for EBOB-linked futures contracts in order to benefit its derivatives positions

in violation of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations. TOTSA is

not registered with the CFTC.

The order requires TOTSA to pay a $48 million civil monetary penalty and cease

and desist from violating the CEA and CFTC regulations.

“Benchmark manipulation is an age-old scheme firms have attempted in many

markets,” said Director of Enforcement Ian McGinley. “In numerous cases over the

past 20 years, the CFTC has guarded market integrity by detecting and prosecuting

these benchmark-related schemes. The scheme in this matter involved an attack on the

market integrity of CFTC-regulated futures contracts on gasoline, and this settlement

demonstrates such attacks will not be tolerated in any market.”

Case Background

According to the order, TOTSA attempted to manipulate the market for

EBOB-linked futures contracts. EBOB is a type of refined gasoline used primarily in

automobiles in Europe. A number of energy-trading companies, including TOTSA,

blend and sell EBOB gasoline. Futures contracts linked to the price of EBOB trade on

CFTC-regulated exchanges. The value of these financially-settled futures contracts is

determined based on a benchmark price for physical EBOB that is published by the

London-based price-reporting service Argus (Argus EBOB Benchmark). The Argus

EBOB Benchmark is based on brokered physical EBOB transactions that are reported

to Argus.

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