Washington, D.C. – On June 7, 2012, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced charges and a settlement against Marat Yunusov for engaging in a fraudulent scheme involving futures contracts. The case, originating from activity in June 2010, centers around manipulation of the Russian ruble and British pound futures markets.
The CFTC order details how Yunusov, a Russian national, exploited a software flaw at Open E Cry, LLC (OEC), a futures commission merchant with offices in Powell, Ohio, and Chicago, Illinois. The flaw miscalculated customer profits and losses in the Russian ruble futures contract, showing only 10% of the actual amounts.
Yunusov leveraged this error to execute a prearranged trading scheme involving over 20,000 ruble contracts and 70,000 E-micro British pound futures contracts. His trading generated an actual loss of approximately $9 million in his OEC account, offset by profits in an account he controlled at another firm. However, due to the software glitch, OEC’s systems only reflected a $900,000 loss. He also gained over $900,000 trading British pound futures through OEC.
The CFTC found that OEC failed to diligently supervise customer accounts and implement adequate alert systems to detect suspicious trading, such as the large volumes traded by Yunusov. This lack of oversight allowed the scheme to continue undetected for several hours.
While OEC was penalized with a $250,000 civil monetary penalty and ordered to cease and desist from further violations of CFTC regulation 166.3, the primary focus of the CFTC’s action was on Yunusov’s fraudulent activity. The CFTC thanked the CME Group for its assistance in the investigation.
The CFTC’s investigation was led by Theodore Z. Polley III, Melissa Glasbrenner, William P. Janulis, Scott Williamson, Rosemary Hollinger, and Richard B. Wagner.
Source: CFTC.gov
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