Washington D.C. – Commodity fraud investigators at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have penalized Dubai residents Kunal Bansal and Vinit Agarwal, along with their firms Aralia Securities, Ltd. and Vintage Bullion DMCC, for engaging in manipulative trading practices. The CFTC issued an order on December 27, 2021, simultaneously filing charges and settling the case.
Bansal, acting on behalf of Aralia Securities, and Agarwal, representing Vintage Bullion DMCC, were found to have executed wash sales and non-competitive transactions in gold futures contracts. The scheme involved placing offsetting buy and sell orders at the same price to create the illusion of trading volume, a practice known as wash trading.
Specifically, on April 14, 2020, Bansal directed Agarwal to sell 250 gold futures contracts on the COMEX exchange. Simultaneously, Bansal entered offsetting buy orders for the same quantity and price. When an initial offer from Agarwal didn’t match Bansal’s bid, Agarwal adjusted his price to ensure the trades executed. This resulted in 13 wash trades encompassing 189 gold futures contracts.
The CFTC order requires Bansal, Agarwal, Aralia Securities, and Vintage Bullion DMCC to jointly and severally pay a $100,000 civil monetary penalty. Additionally, all respondents are ordered to cease and desist from violating the Commodity Exchange Act and related CFTC regulations.
This investigation was conducted in conjunction with a parallel inquiry by the CME Group, which also took disciplinary action. On December 16, the CME Group issued a Notice of Disciplinary Action, resulting in Bansal agreeing to a $25,000 fine and a 10-day suspension, while Agarwal agreed to a $10,000 fine and a 10-day suspension. The CFTC acknowledged the CME Group’s assistance in the matter.
Dmitriy Vilenskiy, Luke Marsh, and Paul Hayeck of the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement led the investigation.
Source: CFTC.gov
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