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The Australian financial market regulator has announced an enforcement action against SocGen for failing to identify and report abusive activity in power and wheat futures conducted on the ASX 24 exchange by its DMA customers.

The FCA recently outlined its expectations for trading firms on off-channel communications, covering governance, surveillance, vendors, MI, and training. This article examines what this might mean for energy and commodity traders.

One of two remaining CFTC Commissioners has confirmed her departure from the Commission in the same week that the Commission announces the procurement of a new commercial trade surveillance system to replace its 90s-era tooling.

ICE Futures Europe has penalised a shipping futures broker for Block Trade, recordkeeping and systems and controls failures and violations.

The Singapore Attorney-General’s Chambers has announced a hefty fine and Deferred Prosecution Agreement against a Singapore company for corruption offences involving the Brazilian national oil company.

Democrat-appointed FERC Commissioner David Rosner has been announced as the new Chairman of FERC following the recent departure of Mark Christie.

The FCA has announced an enforcement action against Sigma Broking Limited for MiFID/MiFIR transaction reporting failures.

The SEC recently submitted a status update to the appeals court regarding its intentions surrounding the climate disclosure rules established under the previous administration.

ANRE announces measures aimed at curbing speculation in the Romanian power market in relation to bilateral purchase agreements.

The dispute settlement and sanctions committee for CRE, the French energy regulator, has announced fines against two entities for abusing the ARENH scheme.

ARERA has publishes a report on Market Integrity in the Italian Day-Ahead Electricity Market (2023–2024) which identifies potential economic withholding across all generation technologies.

The FCA has announced a consultation on the changes to the ancillary activities test (AAT) for the ancillary activities exemption (AAE) under UK MiFID.

BaFin has announced the reintroduction of MiFID II spot month and other months position limits for the Trading Hub Europe (THE) TTF natural gas futures contracts listed on EEX.

FERC fines Green Plains for alleged cross-market manipulation in natural gas trading during bidweek at the MichCon hub in early 2023.

OFAC reaches settlement agreement against catalyst product provider for sanctions violations while the DOJ declines to prosecute the firm’s new owner due to effective and timely self-reporting.

The EU Commission has announced the scope of the EU’s 18th package of sanctions against Russia which includes a proposed reduction in the oil price cap

The FCA has published its quarterly consultation paper which contains proposals for minor changes to UK EMIR reporting.

The Dispute Settlement and Sanctions Committee (CoRDiS) of CRE penalised JP Morgan for failing to comply with its obligation to provide the information necessary for the CRE to carry out its duties.

Ofgem has published its first dedicated guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the UK energy sector.

The EU and UK have announced that they will work towards linking their respective emissions trading systems and explore the possibility of reintegrating the GB power market with the EU’s internal power market.

Three CFTC Commissioners have announced their imminent departures from the Commission in quick succession including Caroline Pham, the current Acting Chair.

The EU Commission has announced plans to halt all remaining energy imports from Russia into the EU.

The French energy regulator has published its inaugural quarterly market monitoring newsletter on the functioning of the French electricity market in light of the forthcoming end of ARENH.

Commissioner and former Chair Willie Phillips has resigned from FERC with immediate effect giving the Republicans an opportunity to appoint a replacement.

CFTC staff have published a letter providing guidance on the criteria that the operating divisions will use to determine whether to make a referral to the Division of Enforcement.

The IMO has reached agreement on global greenhouse gas emissions pricing and mandatory marine fuel standard regulations for global shipping.

ESMA has published a Consultation Paper on proposed amendments to the clearing thresholds regime under the EMIR 3 Regulation.

The Swiss authorities have publishedthe Federal Act on Supervision and Transparency in Wholesale Energy Markets, otherwise known as “BATE”, in the Federal Gazette.

The EU energy agency ACER published its 30th REMIT Q&A update, aligning guidance with REMIT II and expanding obligations for hydrogen and LNG.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced a civil forfeiture complaint involving the proceeds from the sale of USD $47 million worth of petroleum product allegedly to the benefit of Iran.

The OFSI has published its Annual Review for the 2023-24 fiscal year which includes insights into their oversight of the G7+ Oil Price Cap.

The Acting Chairwoman of the CFTC has delivered a wide-ranging address at a recent conference where several surprising policy announcements were made.

The EU Commission has proposed to extend the EU Gas Storage Regulation by two years.

This week the Danish energy regulator announced an enforcement action against Energi Danmark A/S for alleged capacity hoarding in the Nordic power market in breach of Article 5 of REMIT.

Canadian regulators have announced a temporary exemption for certain reporting requirements related to unique product identifiers for commodity derivatives under its Trade Reporting Rules which are due to enter into effect in July 2025.

The French Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) fined Danske Commodities A/S and Equinor ASA a combined €12 million for gas capacity auction market manipulation.

This week the Acting Chairman of the SEC published a statement announcing it had requested the courts to pause any judgements relating to the SEC’s climate disclosure rules.

The Dutch National Regulatory Authority (NRA) has announced an enforcement action against an “international company” for manipulation of the TTF gas market.

This week the EU Commission announced a time-bound extension of its regulatory equivalence recognition under Article 25 of EMIR for UK central counterparties (CCPs) effective from 1 July 2025.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has updated its analysis on money laundering risks in wholesale markets, highlighting key compliance gaps and best practices.

The US CFTC has announced the unanimous appointment of Commissioner Caroline Pham as the acting-Chairwoman of the CFTC following the recent departure of Rostin Behnam, the previous Chair.

The Italian energy regulator announced the initiation of an enforcement action against Enel Produzione S.p.A for allegedly breaching Article 4 of REMIT relating to the disclosure of inside information.

ICE Futures Abu Dhabi has published an update to its Delivery Limits & Position Limits Guidance which must be considered by firms actively trading on the venue.

In its final enforcement act of 2024 FERC announced an enforcement action against EWP Renewable Corporation for violating the ISO-NE Tariff and FERC regulations for capacity-related breaches.

ESMA has published its Final Report on amendments to certain MiFID 2 technical standards for commodity derivatives following a consultation held earlier in 2024.

FERC has announced two enforcement actions with heavy penalties and disgorgements continuing the flurry of year end activity by the Commission.

FERC fines a battery storage operator $3.47 million for violating CAISO tariff rules through misreporting and uneconomic market gains.

EWRC has announced four separate REMIT enforcement actions to various market participants for Article 4 disclosure breaches and a registration failing.

IOSCO has announced the publication of a targeted report reviewing the implementation of their Principles for the Regulation and Supervision of Commodity Derivatives Markets following a recent survey.

FERC has published its 2024 Enforcement Report which covers the activities of the FERC’s Office of Enforcement for the prior year.

The EU Council adopted the final EMIR 3 text to strengthen clearing requirements, reduce reliance on non-EU CCPs, and improve EU financial stability.

This week the EU Parliament adopted a resolution demanding more targeted EU sanctions against Russia’s maritime ‘shadow fleet’.

The UK FCA‘s latest Market Watch newsletter examines observations from their supervision of the UK MiFID transaction reporting regime.

In a speech CFTC Commissioner Summer K Mersinger discusses the need for reform of the CFTC’s approach to enforcement.

OFAC has published an update on the sanctions that place a price cap on Russian seaborne oil and oil products.

The US Department of Justice announced a settlement with the Hilcorp Energy Company for the violation of the Clean Air Act and New Mexico state for “CO2 pollution“.

The CNMC fined Neuro Energía €1.1M for manipulating Spain's intraday electricity market by submitting non-genuine bids to distort supply-demand dynamics.

ESMA has published its first annual EU Carbon Markets Report examining the state of the market including current trends.

This week the CFTC announced a set of three related enforcement actions for fraud in the voluntary carbon credit (VCC) market, the first such actions brought by the CFTC in this market.

ACER has issued new REMIT 2 guidance, clarifying obligations for non-EU market participants and PPAETs, focusing on registration and reporting rules.

CNMC has fined Enérgya VM Gestión de Energía for manipulating the Spanish gas market in breach of Article 5 of REMIT by securing prices at an artificial level.

ASIC has published a reminder imploring in-scope businesses to prepare for the go-live of mandatory climate reporting which passed into law on 17 September 2024.

OFAC has announced updates to its advisory to the maritime petroleum shipping community regarding petroleum shipments involving Iran and Syria.

FERC fines the Big Rivers Electric Corporation for violating FERC’s anti-manipulation rule that involved generation outages and capacity payements received from MISO during June and July 2023.

Ofgem has announced a settlement and the closure of an investigation into whether Drax Power Limited had breached its annual profiling reporting requirements regarding the Renewables Obligations scheme.

ASIC, the Australian financial regulator, has published its annual report on greenwashing misconduct and the related regulatory interventions by ASIC covering its financial year.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that a trader has pleaded guilty for his role in a scheme to bribe Mexican government officials to secure gas contracts for his employer at the time.

FERC has announced an enforcement action penalizing Vista Energy Storage for violating CAISO's Open Access Transmission Tariff and FERC regulations.

Singapore’s energy market regulator (EMA) has announced that the Ministry of Trade and Industry has introduced the Energy Transition Measures and Other Amendments Bill for a first reading in the Singapore Parliament.

ACER has published an Open Letter clarifying certain obligations under REMIT 2 relating to Algorithmic trading and the provision of direct electronic access (DEA) services.

The Australian financial market regulator ASIC has announced an enforcement action for the alleged manipulation of Australian Wheat futures traded on the ASX24 market between 17 January 2022 and 3 March 2022.

The FIA and ACM provide crucial insights into algorithmic trading including in relation to wholesale energy markets, emphasizing compliance, REMIT 2, and MiFID 2 regulations.

The Dispute Settlement and Sanctions Committee (CoRDiS) of the French energy regulator (CRE) announced that it had fined a firm EUR 6 million for abusing ARENH contracts.

This week saw several enforcement actions announced against oil and gas companies for violations of environmental regulations involving both the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Justice (DoJ).

This week ESMA, the pan-EU financial regulator, an 11-page opinion confirming new MiFID 2 position limits for contracts in TTF gas which are traded on both ICE Endex and the EEX exchanges.

ICE Futures US have affirmed an earlier enforcement decision which resulted in a rare Summary Access Denial decision immediately barring the firm and its owner from access to the exchange.

This week the CFTC announce a USD $8 million whistleblower award to a company insider who provided information and assistance that led the CFTC and other unnamed agencies to bring multiple successful enforcement actions.

The CFTC has issued an enforcement order stemming from a Whistleblower action against Trafigura Trading LLC for multiple violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC Regulations.

A major milestone was reached in the EU’s Single Intraday Coupling (SIDC) power market this week with the introduction of Intraday Auctions (IDAs).

The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has announced an AUD $2.75 fine against an energy firm for recordkeeping failings with regard to gas capacity renominations in the Australian gas market.

Ofgem has announced a significant action against Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Limited (BOWL) for breaching condition 20A of the Electricity Generation Standard Licence Conditions for bidding behaviour in the Balancing Mechanism (BM) in the GB power market.

The FERC announced an enforcement action against Engie Energy Marketing NA for making false attestations to the ISO-NE Internal Market Monitor regarding the Forward Reserve Market in order to claim exemptions from energy market mitigation.

The CME has issued four notices of disciplinary action involving indirect wash trading on the CME and NYMEX venues, some involving the use of block trades.

ASIC, the Australian financial regulator, has fined JP Morgan AUD $775,000 for allowing suspicious Client orders in wheat futures to be placed on the ASX 24 futures market.

This week CFTC Commissioner Pham delivered a strongly worded statement heavily criticising the CFTC over the lack of proper procedures, the alleged overreach of jurisdiction, the disregard for due process, and failure to comply with certain laws.

With the recent adoption of REMIT 2 and several dates now confirmed for the entry into force of its respective obligations, regulators and exchanges have begun mobilising.

This week the US CFTC announced the approval of Final Rules to amend its large trader reporting regulations for futures and options under Part 17 of the CFTC’s regulations.

With REMIT 2 being published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 17 April 2024, ACER has marked this milestone by publishing initial guidance in the form of an Open Letter.

This week the Romanian energy regulator followed up on their record-setting REMIT fines announced in February by announcing another three individual fines totalling RON 18,005,844 (c.EUR 3,615,100).

This week Energimarknadsinspektionen announced it is embarking on a thematic review to assess the procedures firms have in place around handling incorrect bids.

This week the US CFTC announced an enforcement action against a registered Swap Dealer for failing to ensure that its transaction surveillance solution was functioning effectively.

The US DOJ has announced that a large commodity trader was fined USD $126 million after pleading guilty to breaching anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

This week the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) announced that a Federal Court had ordered an electricity generator to pay a fine for breaching Australia’s National Electricity Rules.

The US Department of Justice has announced that the former president of an energy trading firm had pleaded guilty to an illegal commission kickback scheme involving natural gas futures.

This week the EU Parliament adopted a new Directive on criminalising the violation of EU sanctions by harmonising the enforcement of sanctions across the bloc.

ARERA issued a fine to a Swiss firm for a breach of REMIT where the firm failed to register as a Market Participant and failed to fulfill its reporting obligations.

This week the US Department of Justice and the Swiss Federal Council announced penalties against Gunvor SA totalling approximately USD $760 million for bribery-related cases.

The Italian energy regulator fines ENET Energy S.A. for sending false and misleading signals to the market using a “fictitious device” in the Italian gas market in breach of Article 5 of REMIT.

This week the CFTC’s EEMAC committee discussed rare earth metals and their importance to the energy transition and the evolution of both spot and derivatives markets in these metals.

This week ANRE, the Romanian energy regulator, fined four firms for REMIT violations associated with wash trading.

IOSCO has published an update to their 2011 “Principles for the Regulation and Supervision of Commodity Derivatives Markets” to help prevent manipulation and abusive trading schemes”.

The Australian Energy Regulator has published its report on enforcement cases for the second half of 2023 and outlines its enforcement priorities for 2024.

The CFTC has issued a Request for Comment (RFC) seeking industry input on the definition and applications of AI in financial markets covering a broad spectrum of AI use.

The CFTC has started 2024 by charging a trader for engaging in a Fictitious Sales Scheme in agricultural futures on the CBOT exchange.

ESMA plans to work with National Competent Authorities across the EU to assess the implementation of pre-trade controls implemented under RTS 6 of MiFID2.

The Energy Markets Inspectorate (Ei) publishes notice urging market participants to ensure that they have measures in place to minimize the risk of entering incorrect orders.

On 20 December 2023, the EU along with the other G7+ Price Cap Coalition members, announced revisions to the Russian oil price cap compliance regime.

This week several US Federal agencies issued joint guidance on best practices to ensure the proper control over the transportation of goods subject to export controls and sanctions.

The UK financial regulator has proposed a comprehensive set of changes to the regulatory framework around commodity derivatives trading with a significant focus on a new position limit regime as well as changes to the ancillary activity test which sets the regulatory perimeter for commodity traders under the UK MiFID 2 rules.

The CFTC approved proposed guidance relating to factors a CFTC-regulated exchange should consider when listing voluntary carbon credit derivative contracts.

The European Commission has proposed a 12-month extension of the emergency measures introduced last year in response to the energy crisis provoked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Joint industry associations highlight their collective REMIT 2 priorities in two open letters to EU lawmakers as the trilogue negotiations near their conclusion.

A major milestone for REMIT 2 is announced as political agreement is reached on the final rules between the European Parliament and Council.

Boliden Odda AS was fined NOK 5,000,000 by the Norwegian Energy Regulatory Authority for market manipulation in the Norwegian part of the mFRR power market.

The Australian financial regulator has again warned firms operating in Australia about their continued enforcement focus on greenwashing.

FERC has fined the owner of several power generation plants for submitting inaccurate Physical Maximum (Pmax) values in violation of CAISO market rules.

The CFTC has published its 2023 Whistleblower report to Congress providing detailed insights into trends around this important topic and stakeholder group.

The CFTC has issued a $3million penalty against an oats merchandiser for alleged market abuse in Oats futures on CBOT.

The CFTC's new enforcement advisory will significantly change how future enforcement cases are resolved.

The Dispute Settlement and Sanctions Committee (CoRDiS) for CRE, the French energy regulator, issued a “non-infringement” REMIT enforcement decision this week.

The Chairman of the CFTC, Rostin Behnam, recently delivered a speech addressing the Commission’s enforcement priorities.

ESMA has published its 2024 work programme and there are a number of things energy and commodity traders should be aware of.

ICE Futures US has announced a series of Disciplinary Notices which mostly target clearing members and brokers.

The Market Regulation Department at the CME has issued an updated Market Regulation Advisory Notice concerning the use of material non-public information.

The Joint Energy Associations Group issued an updated response to the proposed EMIR 3 changes put forward by MEPs in the European Parliament regarding the EMIR clearing threshold. .

CEER and ACER have published their latest joint Market Monitoring Report showing that retail electricity and gas prices rose significantly in response to wholesale price spikes in 2022.

This week the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) published a guidance paper outlining their expectations for effective money-laundering/terrorism financing controls for regulated firms.

FERC has penalized an Arkansas-based steel mill and a contracted market facing entity for breaching market rules around demand response provision in the MISO market.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued a statement warning about enforcement for money laundering and terrorism financing activities.

The CFTC and SEC has issued a cumulative $555 million in fines to 12 firms for the pervasive unauthorised use of offline communications to conduct regulated business.

This week the Italian energy market regulator announced an investigation into alleged insider trading under REMIT.

This week the CFTC announced an enforcement action involving multiple instances of spoofing in WTI light sweet crude oil futures contracts on CME NYMEX.

This week saw four individual Disciplinary Actions issued by the CME COMEX and CBOT disciplinary panels continuing the CME Group's active run of enforcement actions.

The so-called “Tri-Seal” note describes voluntary self-disclosure (VSD) policies that apply to U.S. sanctions, export controls, and other national security laws.

The Spanish National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) has fined Naturgy Generación SLU (Naturgy) €EUR 6 million for manipulating electricity prices.

This week the US CFTC held their second meeting focussing on voluntary carbon markets at a critical point in their development.

This week the Hungarian energy regulator issued a fine of approximately €1.4 million for alleged abuse of a gas capacity auction in breach of Article 5 of REMIT.

Member States of the IMO have adopted the 2023 IMO Strategy on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships.

The US CFTC issued a USD $150,000 fine for a breach of Federal position limits in Platinum futures, the first enforcement case involving so-called Dodd-Frank position limits.

The European Council has reached general agreement on the proposed updates to REMIT following the EU Commission’s original proposed changes under the EU Electricity Market Design reforms package.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has issued guidance to help whistleblowers identify improper behaviour in US carbon markets.

ASIC’s chair, Joe Longo, spoke at the AFR ESG Summit on 5 Jun discussing a range of ESG related topics.

Rancher ordered to pay a large fine in connection with a phantom cattle fraud scheme including position limit violations.

The European Commission has issued a report analysing the impacts of the emergency energy measures implemented in response to the ongoing Ukraine conflict.

This week CME Nymex issued three disciplinary action notices to brokers and clearing members for breaching exchange rules.

In a recent speech by the FCA's Sarah Pritchard, she expressed her views on how firms should approach sanctions systems in response to the ongoing Ukraine conflict.

ESMA finds high degree of concentration in natural gas derivatives markets.

The ICE Endex Exchange has updated its Market Correction Mechanism (MCM) Regulation guidance.

OFAC announced a settlement with Poloniex, a digital assets trading platform, for sanctions violations allowing customers apparently located in sanctioned jurisdictions to engage in online digital asset-related transactions consisting of trades, deposits, and withdrawals.

Energiavirasto (EV), the Finnish energy regulator, has announced further developments in its “market surveillance practices” under REMIT.

The CME issues a batch of 20 enforcement notices continuing its run of active enforcement across its trading venues.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) released several important updates to its policies related to corporate crime enforcement and compliance programmes. We review each of the updates in further detail.

The CFTC fined BBL Commodities, a US based commodity trader, for the failure to maintain an adequate supervisory system to prevent potentially disruptive trading.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and HM Treasury have completed a review of the criminal market abuse regime applicable to financial market activities conducted in the UK.

Here’s what energy and commodity firms active in US markets need to know about the DoJ’s focus on spoofing and the potential for criminal convictions

Get a summary of the key changes to the UK EMIR derivative reporting regime and what it means for energy and commodity firms.

ACM’s market alert provides rare clarity and useful guidance. Read more about the key takeaways.

This week’s RegTrail Insights reviews further changes to the EMIR regulation and how it will affect NFC firms in particular.

RegTrail considers the 6 new principles added in the IOSCO update and the implications for compliance.

RegTrail provides key takeaways following the release of two reports examining whether the EU gas price cap or MCM has had any “pre-impact” on traded markets.