New York, NY – Otmane El Rhazi, a Moroccan national and employee of Citigroup Global Markets Ltd., is facing charges of fraud and misappropriation following a complaint filed by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on April 15, 2011, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
El Rhazi, residing in the United Kingdom, is accused of engaging in noncompetitive and fictitious futures trades to steal approximately $300,000 from a Citibank, N.A. proprietary account he oversaw as part of his employment. The court immediately issued a restraining order, freezing El Rhazi’s assets and prohibiting the destruction of any relevant records.
According to the CFTC complaint, between November 23, 2010, and April 5, 2011, El Rhazi executed a scheme involving palladium and platinum futures contracts traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Globex platform. He allegedly traded the Citibank account against his personal account, utilizing off-market prices in illiquid contracts. While these transactions resulted in no net change to the open positions of either account, El Rhazi reportedly profited from each offsetting trade, while the Citibank account sustained the losses.
The CFTC is seeking a permanent injunction to prevent further violations of federal commodities laws, as well as restitution, disgorgement of any ill-gotten gains, a civil monetary penalty, and other equitable relief. The agency acknowledged the assistance of the U.K. Financial Services Authority in this matter.
This case is being pursued by CFTC staff members including Christopher Giglio, Elizabeth Padgett, David W. Oakland, K. Brent Tomer, Manal Sultan, Lenel Hickson, Stephen J. Obie, Vincent McGonagle, Brian Rushton, Vincent Varisano and Marshall Horn.
Source: CFTC.gov
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