The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has ordered Swiss energy trader TOTSA TotalEnergies Trading SA to pay a $48 million fine for attempting to manipulate the market for European benchmark gasoline futures. This action underscores the CFTC’s commitment to maintaining market integrity.
According to the CFTC, the manipulation scheme occurred in March 2018 when TOTSA flooded the market with physical EBOB benchmark gasoline at significantly reduced prices while simultaneously holding a large short position, betting that EBOB futures would decline in value. This strategy involved incurring losses on physical sales to enhance the value of their short position.
Ian McGinley, the CFTC’s Enforcement Director, stated that such attacks on market integrity will not be tolerated. The agency noted that while TOTSA offered some cooperation during the investigation, it failed to adequately preserve certain WhatsApp messages and did not produce them in a timely manner.
Caroline Pham, a Republican member of the commission, dissented from the decision, expressing concerns about the strength of the evidence against the company.