CFTC Fines Russian Bank President for Making False Statements to CFTC Staff

The CFTC charged foreign national, Artem Obolensky, with making false and misleading statements of material fact to CFTC staff during an investigation of a trade between the bank of which Mr. Obolensky was president and a non-U.S. fund that was managed by a number of the bank's employees. The CFTC's Order found that Obolensky knowingly made false and misleading statements to CFTC staff on October 13, 2011, regarding a trade in March 2012 Japanese Yen call options contracts between the two entities. According to the Order, Obolensky said: "The two entities pursue different strategies. Pure coincidence that the trades crossed. Very isolated when viewed in the context of all of the trades the bank has placed in markets over the years." The CFTC found that that the two entities traded opposite each other more than 182 times and modified their orders repeatedly to ensure that they would match.

The Order enforced the false statements provision of CEA Section 6(c)(2) ("Exclusion of Persons from Privilege of 'Registered Entities' Procedure for Exclusion; Review by Court of Appeals"), which was added by the Dodd-Frank Act. The CFTC fined Obolensky $250,000 to settle the charges.

See: CFTC Order; Press Release.