United States

Market Abuse

Scotiabank Resolves DOJ, CFTC Spoofing Charges for $127.4m

By Editors | 20/08/2020

Four Scotiabank traders based in New York, London and Hong Kong placed thousands of orders in precious metals futures between 2008 and 2016 to manipulate prices.

Trading & Investment

HKEX Adds Two More Taiwan Futures Contracts to MSCI Suite

By Manesh Samtani | 20/08/2020

HKEX is seeking CFTC certification for the new contracts. The move intensifies competition with SGX, which already has a CFTC-certified futures contract for Taiwan.

Anti-Money Laundering

APAC Regulators Issue Nearly $4bn in AML Fines in H1 2020

By Editors | 19/08/2020

Fraudulent activity brought on by Covid-19 related initiatives may result in enforcement actions later in the year and into 2021, says Fenergo’s Rachel Woolley.

PEPs & Sanctions

UN Security Council Rejects Extension of Iran Arms Embargo

By Editors | 18/08/2020

The UN Security Council has rejected a US resolution to extend an international arms embargo on Iran due to expire on 18 October.

Fraud, Scams & Cybercrime

SEC Opens Fraud Investigation Into Chinese Streaming Service iQiyi

By Sanday Chongo Kabange | 17/08/2020

The investigation into follows an April report from Wolfpack Research alleging Nasdaq-listed iQiyi inflated its revenue, user numbers and expenses.

CBDCs

Federal Reserve, MIT to Develop, Test ‘Hypothetical’ Digital Dollar

By Sanday Chongo Kabange | 16/08/2020

Fed governor Lael Brainard said lessons from the collaboration will be published, and any codebase developed will be offered as open-source software.

Structural Regulation

Chinese Firms Continue to Seek US Listings Ahead of New Rules

By Editors | 12/08/2020

Chinese companies already listed on US bourses will have until 1 January 2022 comply with tougher IPO standards. New listings will have to comply sooner.

Structural Regulation

China to Deepen Financial Sector Opening-up Despite Worsening US Ties

By Editors | 12/08/2020

PBOC governor Yi Gang says China will continue to open up its financial sector in line with the phase one trade deal signed with the US in January.

Trading & Investment

SGX Announces Upcoming Launch of 13 New Equity Futures Contracts

By Editors | 11/08/2020

The new futures contracts are based on net total return and price return indices calculated by FTSE Russell, covering regional as well as single country benchmarks.