MONSEY, NY – Igor Chernomzav, a partner and trader at Hard Eight Futures, LLC, has been charged with spoofing and manipulation by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), officials announced September 30, 2019. The CFTC alleges that Chernomzav engaged in a deceptive trading scheme designed to manipulate the market for E-mini futures contracts.
According to the CFTC, between March 2014 and March 2015, Chernomzav, while trading on the CME Group’s Globex platform, repeatedly placed bids and offers with the intention of canceling them before execution. These orders represented a significant portion of the best bid or offer at the time, creating a false impression of market interest.
The CFTC contends Chernomzav used this fabricated market activity to influence other traders, inducing them to execute transactions at prices and quantities favorable to him. The alleged scheme occurred on over a thousand occasions during the stated timeframe.
The regulatory body has issued orders requiring Hard Eight Futures to pay a $1.75 million civil monetary penalty, while Chernomzav himself will pay $750,000. In addition to the financial penalties, Chernomzav is barred from trading in any CFTC-regulated market for nine months.
“This case is about maintaining fair markets,” stated James McDonald, CFTC Director of Enforcement. “Market integrity in today’s electronically traded markets starts with making sure bids and offers represent real buying and selling interest, not fake order flow intended to manipulate other market participants.”
The CME Group’s Market Regulation Department conducted a parallel investigation and announced its own disciplinary actions against Hard Eight Futures and Chernomzav. The CFTC acknowledged the CME Group’s assistance in the matter.
Source: CFTC.gov
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