CFTC pushes for more time in Tallinex’s case to pursue settlement talks with GTF
Whereas GTF, the alleged introducing broker of Tallinex in the United States, is engaged in settlement talks with the CFTC, there is no information on Tallinex’s defenses in this case.
There has not been much information around the case the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) brought against retail FX broker Tallinex and its alleged introducing broker in the US – General Trader Fulfillment (GTF), in May this year. One of the reasons for this is the unresponsiveness of Tallinex. The mail to its Estonian address was returned as undelivered, whereas the broker got the legal papers related to the case at its address in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on August 15, 2017 but there has been no reaction by the company since.
Let’s recall that under the CFTC complaint, from at least September 2012 to at least September 2016, the defendants solicited or accepted orders from retail FX customers located in the United States, without having the necessary registration. The regulator is seeking (inter alia) a Court order requiring Defendants to pay civil monetary penalties in amounts the greater of: (i) $170,472 for each violation of the Act and Regulations; (ii) triple their monetary gain.
GTF has made its stance regarding the CFTC allegations clear by denying that it was Tallinex’s IB. At the moment of publication of this article, Tallinex has not yet filed an Answer to the Complaint or otherwise appeared to defend itself in the lawsuit.
On Monday, November 13, 2017, GTF and the CFTC moved the Utah District Court for extra time. The parties are said to have propounded written discovery requests and engaged in settlement discussions. In order to allow the parties additional time to pursue the settlement talks, and, in the event the discussions do not yield a settlement agreement, to complete fact discovery, including depositions, the CFTC and GTF request that the Court extends the remaining deadlines in the previously announced schedule by approximately 120 days.
As a result, the close of fact discovery will be scheduled for June 29, 2018. The final pretrial conference will be scheduled for March 26, 2019, whereas a jury trial will be set for April 8, 2019.
The parties assess the settlement probability as fair.
