MS Morgan Stanley

By Kimberly Chin

Morgan Stanley Capital Group Inc., the commodities unit of Morgan Stanley (MS), has agreed to pay a $1.5 million civil penalty to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to settle allegations a trader had engaged in spoofing in the precious metals futures market.

The spoofing activity -- feigning interest in futures to drive the illusion of demand and supply -- occurred between at least November 2013 to November 2014, the CFTC said.

The CFTC said Morgan Stanley promptly conducted an internal review of the trading activity, and fully cooperated and materially assisted the agency in carrying out its investigation.

Morgan Stanley agreed to settle without admitting or denying wrongdoing, the CFTC said. A Morgan Stanley representative didn't have further comment.

The New York firm has agreed to cease and desist from violating the Commodity Exchange Act's spoofing prohibition. In addition, the company has agreed to take steps to strengthen its training, process and controls for detecting and deterring spoofing in futures trading, the CFTC said.

Write to Kimberly Chin at kimberly.chin@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 01, 2019 18:46 ET (22:46 GMT)

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