A financial institution settled CFTC charges of spoofing, manipulation and the attempted manipulation of certain precious metals futures contracts.
According to the Order, several traders at Merrill Lynch Commodities, Inc. ("Merrill Lynch") bought and sold gold, silver, platinum and palladium futures contracts with the intent to cancel before execution in order to manipulate market prices. The Order also acknowledged Merrill Lynch's cooperation with the investigation and remediation efforts.
Merrill Lynch agreed to (i) pay an $11.5 million civil penalty, (ii) pay approximately $2.3 million in restitution, and (iii) disgorge $11.1 million.
In a parallel matter, the DOJ entered into a Non-Prosecution Agreement with Merrill Lynch. Merrill Lynch agreed to pay a total of $25 million in criminal fines, forfeiture of trading profits and restitution.
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