CFTC awards nearly $2.5 million to Cargill whistleblower

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has awarded about $2.5 million to a whistleblower in a 2017 case against global grain trader Cargill Inc over alleged violations in how it handled trades, the agency said on Tuesday.

The agency fined Cargill $10 million in 2017 for providing inaccurate information on swaps to protect its revenue, and for failing to supervise the company’s swap dealers. At the time, Cargill did not admit to any wrongdoing.

Cargill, one of the largest agriculture commodities traders in the world, provided inaccurate marks that concealed as much as 90 percent of its mark-up, according to the CFTC. read more »

Tipster payout cut by reporting delay

Regulator says “there is a point at which a delay becomes unreasonable”

While a U.S. whistleblower is getting a multi-million dollar award for tipping off derivatives regulators, it could have been bigger if the person had spoken up sooner.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced that it’s paying approximately US$2.5 million to a whistleblower who reported misconduct to regulators.

Yet, the CFTC noted that the award was reduced because of a delay in reporting to the regulator.

“Although this award was substantial, it was reduced because of an unreasonable delay in reporting the violations,” James McDonald, director of the CFTC’s enforcement division, said in a statement. “We understand that whistleblowers may have reasons to delay reporting suspected Commodity Exchange Act violations, however, there is a point at which a delay becomes unreasonable,” said Christopher Ehrman, director of CFTC’s whistleblower office. read more »

Goldman Sachs is offering ‘peanuts’ to compensate for 1MDB, says Malaysian prime minister

nvestment bank Goldman Sachs has offered to compensate 1 billion ringgit ($241.73 million) to Malaysia for its involvement with 1MDB, but Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad says that’s “not adequate.”

Malaysian Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng told CNBC in January that his country is seeking $7.5 billion from Goldman and called on the bank to “have a heart.”

Goldman’s CEO David Solomon has apologized to the Malaysian people, but the bank also says it was lied to in the deals it facilitated for 1MDB. read more »

A Fraudster Loses to the SEC But Beats the Clock on Penalties

Money manager Charles Kokesh was supposed to pay back tens of millions of dollars in unlawful gains. But the watchdog caught up with him too late.

Kokesh started four funds in the 1980s and ’90s. The pitch: They’d finance promising technology companies. Thousands of people ended up investing more than $100 million in them. read more »

Former Insys CEO's wife avoids prison over opioid kickbacks

A former sales representative for Insys Therapeutics Inc who married the then-chief executive was sentenced on Monday to six months of home confinement after admitting that she engaged in a kickback scheme to boost sales of the company’s fentanyl spray.

Natalie Babich, the wife of ex-Insys CEO Michael Babich, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven, Connecticut, who said the home confinement would be part of a five-year period of probation she was imposing. read more »