You’ve been served! CFTC tries to reach Tallinex in Estonia
The summons gives Tallinex 21 days to respond to CFTC’s complaint which alleges that the broker illegally provided retail FX services to US residents.
We are following up to FinanceFeeds’ earlier report about the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) targeting Tallinex in a legal action over providing retail FX services to US residents without having the regulatory permission to do so.
The case was filed on May 30, 2017, at the Utah District Court, and the other defendant in the case – Tallinex’s introducing broker General Trader Fulfillment (GTF) was served with a summons on June 6, 2017 and its answer is due by June 27, 2017.
Serving Tallinex with the summons has turned out to be trickier, as the broker has two addresses – in Estonia and St Vincent and the Grenadines. That is, none is in the United States.
As per court filings, seen by FinanceFeeds, the summons was sent to Tallinex via mail dated June 20, 2017.
The service is done pursuant Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 4(f)(2)(C)(ii), which covers serving an individual in a foreign country.
“Unless federal law provides otherwise, an individual—other than a minor, an incompetent person, or a person whose waiver has been filed—may be served at a place not within any judicial district of the United States:
if there is no internationally agreed means, or if an international agreement allows but does not specify other means, by a method that is reasonably calculated to give notice:
unless prohibited by the foreign country’s law, by:
using any form of mail that the clerk addresses and sends to the individual and that requires a signed receipt”.
On June 20, 2017, the clerk of court certified that he served a true and accurate copy of the Summons & Complaint upon Tallinex by sending said documents by first class mail addressed to the company’s address in Estonia.
The content of the summons is simple:
“A lawsuit has been filed against you.
Within 21 days after service of this summons on you (not counting the day you received it) — or 60 days if you are the United States or a United States agency, or an officer or employee of the United States described in Fed. R. Civ. P. 12 (a)(2) or (3) — you must serve on the plaintiff an answer to the attached complaint or a motion under Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The answer or motion must be served on the plaintiff or plaintiff’s attorney,
If you fail to respond, judgment by default will be entered against you for the relief demanded in the complaint. You also must file your answer or motion with the court.”
According to the CFTC complaint, from at least September 2012 to at least September 2016, the defendants have solicited or accepted orders from retail FX customers located in the United States, with the sum accepted surpassing $1.5 million. 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.
