Page 26 - 期货和衍生品行业监管动态（2023年10月刊）

期货和衍生品行业监管动态

The order requires Interactive Brokers to pay a $20 million civil monetary penalty,

to cease and desist from further violations of recordkeeping and supervision

requirements, and to engage in specified remedial undertakings. Interactive Brokers

admits the facts detailed in the order.

Case Background

The order finds from at least 2019 to the present, Interactive Brokers failed to stop

its employees, including those at senior levels, from communicating using unapproved

communication methods, including messages sent via personal text and WhatsApp. The

firm was required to keep certain of these written communications because they related

to the firm’s CFTC-registered businesses. These written communications generally

were not maintained and preserved by Interactive Brokers, and the firm generally would

not have been able to provide them promptly to the CFTC if and when requested.

The order also finds the widespread use of unapproved communication methods
violated Interactive Brokers’ internal policies and procedures, which generally

prohibited business-related communication taking place via unapproved methods.

Further, some of the same supervisory personnel responsible for ensuring compliance

with the firm’s policies and procedures themselves used non-approved methods of

communication to engage in business-related communications, in violation of firm

policy.

Since December 2021, the CFTC has imposed $1.117 billion in civil monetary

penalties on 20 financial institutions for their use of unapproved methods of

communication, in violation of CFTC recordkeeping and supervision requirements.

[See CFTC Press Release Nos. 8470-21; 8599-22; 8699-23; 8701-23; 8762-23; 8763-

23]

Related Civil Actions

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