US CFTC imposes trading ban on FTX co-founder Gary Wang and former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison

Comparatively, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that the Southern District Court of New York has signed supplemental consent orders (supplemental consent orders) against former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang.

According to the court order, Ellison and Wang are required to continue to cooperate with the CFTC investigation while facing transaction and registration restrictions. Among them, Ellison was given a 5-year trading ban and a 10-year registration ban; Wang was given a 5-year trading ban and an 8-year registration ban. The relevant injunction period is calculated from the date the first consent order was signed on December 23, 2022.

Earlier, on December 23, 2022, the court found Ellison responsible for two counts of fraud charged by the CFTC and held Wang responsible for one fraud charge. The initial consent order between the two permanently prohibited them from violating the Commodity Exchange Act (Commodity Exchange Act) and CFTC related anti-fraud regulations.

David I. Miller, head of the CFTC's enforcement department, said the ruling reflects the regulators' emphasis on “effective cooperation.” Although Ellison and Wang participated in the relevant fraud as Alameda and FTX executives and were found responsible, due to their important assistance in FTX-related investigations, regulators granted appropriate mitigation measures.

The CFTC said that Ellison and Wang will not currently be required to pay compensation, return illegal proceeds, or pay civil fines, mainly due to the degree of cooperation between the two in the investigation and related criminal cases, as well as the $11.02 billion asset forfeiture order involved in the US criminal case. Both have previously pleaded guilty in criminal cases, including pleading guilty to conspire to commit commodity fraud.