“Never admit to clients that we have ever flown rates”, TFS-ICAP’S Woolfenden tells NY broker

Maria Nikolova

“Appreciate if you could keep this quiet”, Woolfenden instructed David Walter, a TFS-ICAP options broker based in New York.

The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has earlier today filed with the New York Southern District Court a set of documents that serve as evidence in its action against interdealer broker TFS-ICAP, Chief Executive Officer, Ian Dibb, and the Head of Emerging Markets broking, Jeremy Woolfenden. The documents, seen by FinanceFeeds, include excerpts from emails, chats and phone correspondence.

Let’s recall that, according to the CFTC Complaint, from approximately 2008 through 2015, brokers at TFS-ICAP offices in the United States and the United Kingdom attempted to deceive and deceived their clients by engaging in the practices of communicating to them fake bids and offers and fake trades in the foreign exchange options market. The CFTC Complaint alleges that the practices, known as “flying prices” and “printing trades”, were a core part of TFS-ICAP’s broking business.

According to the CFTC, the New York Southern District Court has personal jurisdiction over Mr Woolfenden because his actions caused the underlying misconduct at issue in this case – flying & printing trades. TFS-ICAP brokers made misrepresentations to US-based clients because they had been trained and encouraged to do so by Mr Woolfenden. Though Mr. Woolfenden lived in London, as the Global Head of Emerging Markets FX Options he directly supervised and managed these US- and London-based brokers through at least mid-August 2015. Moreover, he registered with the CFTC in the United State as an associated person of two CFTC-registered entities.

As FinanceFeeds reported in May this year, the counsel for Mr Woolfenden argued that the CFTC was not able to muster allegations that establish the New York Southern District Court’s personal jurisdiction over Mr Woolfenden.

“Mr. Woolfenden did not supervise or control the New York desk, and the few contacts he had with employees on that desk cannot be a “proximate cause” or “but for” cause of the CFTC’s claims and thus do not support personal jurisdiction”, the defense counsel has said.

The latest set of documents filed with the Court by the CFTC challenge the statements by the defense counsel. For instance, an email by Jeremy Woolfenden dated January 16, 2014, says that “but as long as you guys are good…I personally think it will make this desk succeed…it doesn’t matter now if we are in London or NY etc…”. Among the recipients of the email is David Walter, a TFS-ICAP options broker based in New York during the complaint period.

An email to David Walter by Jeremy Woolfenden from March 26, 2014, says:

“I’ve had to fly into NY today on business. Could you come to the hotel around 6pm, please?

Appreciate if you could keep this quiet”.

Source: CFTC filing with the New York Southern District Court.

A July 15, 2014 Bloomberg chat is pretty elucidating as John Ward, a TFS-ICAP FX options broker based in NY at the time of the chat, tells Woolfenden:

“shall we be flying so much in a SEF market”.

In an email from July 22, 2014, Woolfenden says:

“the amount of calling needs to be more limited, there aren’t as many OFF SEF trades going through to make it believable”.

An excerpt from a phone chat between Woolfenden and Ward is rather straightforward:

Source: CFTC filing with the Court.

Read this next

Digital Assets

Sumsub and Mercuryo publish a guide for VASPs: “Mastering Travel Rule Compliance”

“At Sumsub, we’ve concentrated our efforts on filling the gap in understanding the complexity of Travel Rule regulation and helping organizations find the best solution to stay safe and compliant while minimizing costs and avoiding potential risks of non-compliance. This guide we created with Mercuryo, our trusted partner, is the ultimate navigation tool all VASPs can consult.”

Digital Assets

Bitget Wallet Leads with Record Swap Volume & New Crypto Innovations

This week, Bitget Wallet achieved a milestone by surpassing Metamask with a record 388,757 Swap order transactions, securing the global lead. The significant 7-day trading volume, almost 68,000 more than its rival, underscores its liquidity and user trust. This robust activity signals Bitget Wallet’s prominent role and reliability in the dynamic crypto market.

Digital Assets

Embarking on a Digital Currency Journey

Imagine you’ve stumbled upon a treasure map, leading you to untold riches hidden in the vastness of the internet. Instead of gold coins and jewel-encrusted goblets, this treasure comes in the form of digital currencies, the modern-day loot coveted by many.

Reviews

Traders Union Experts Share The Trading Analyst Review For 2024

Navigating options trading in rapidly shifting markets poses a considerable challenge. This is where options trading alert services become invaluable. They aid traders in keeping abreast of evolving opportunities and market trends. In this assessment, Traders Union experts scrutinize The Trading Analyst alert service to ascertain its efficacy. 

Digital Assets

BlockDAG’s Presale Achieves $9.9M: Aiming For A 5000-Fold ROI As Cardano’s Price Rises And Fantom Launches Sonic

Explore Cardano’s surge, Sonic’s efficiency, and why BlockDAG’s growth makes it the top crypto choice. A deep dive into the future of blockchain investments.

Digital Assets

US, UK probe $20 billion Tether transfers tied to Russian exchange.

U.S. and UK authorities are investigating the movement of $20 billion in the USD-pegged stablecoin tether (USDT) through Moscow-based exchange Garantex.

Digital Assets

BlockDAG Presale Raises $9.9M as Batch 5 Nears Sell-Out Amid Bonk’s Fluctuating Trading Volume & Spell’s Bullish Price

Explore BONK’s trading volume, SPELL’s market shifts, and why BlockDAG’s 10,000 ROI makes it an ideal crypto for savvy investors in 2024.

Digital Assets

Bybit expands into Europe amid regulatory scrutiny

Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange Bybit is expanding its operations in Europe after encountering regulatory challenges in Hong Kong.

Digital Assets

Cathie Wood’s sponsored Bitcoin ETF sees historic $200 million inflows

The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), co-sponsored by Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest, registered historic inflows exceeding $200 million on Wednesday, signaling a robust appetite among investors for Bitcoin-centric investments.

<