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| Lead Program Office: Division of Enforcement (DOE) Data Source: eLaw System Verification: Internal Review |
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| ACTUAL FY 2011 |
PLAN FY 2011 |
ACTUAL FY 2012 |
PLAN FY 2012 |
PLAN FY 2013 |
PLAN FY 2014 |
PLAN FY 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 81% | 65% | 69% | 70% | 75% | 75% | 80% |
The performance target was nearly met for FY 2012. Of the 325 investigations closed during FY 2012, including those of fraud, abusive trading practices, and manipulation, the CFTC concluded 223 within one year of opening. A further breakdown of the investigations completed under a year finds that 133 closed in six months or less (60 percent), and the remaining 90 investigations took between six months and one year (40 percent) to conclude.
The number of CFTC enforcement investigations opened has risen sharply in recent years—from 99 in FY 2007 to over 350 in FY 2012—due to a combination of factors, including the clarification of the Commission's authority over off-exchange traded forex (foreign exchange currency), cooperative enforcement efforts, and the exposure of Ponzi schemes due to the financial downturn. The Commission is also experiencing an uptick in the number of market manipulation and disruptive trading investigations, which are complex and resource intensive.
The Commission's FY 2012 Plan target for this performance measure took into account these factors, as well as historical performance and staffing constraints. Despite these factors and constraints, the Commission approached its target for this performance measure, and remains committed to the effective and expeditious disposition of its enforcement investigations.
| Lead Program Office: Division of Enforcement (DOE) Data Source: eLaw System Verification: Office of Cooperative Enforcement spreadsheet and correspondence with civil and criminal authorities |
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| ACTUAL FY 2011 |
PLAN FY 2011 |
ACTUAL FY 2012 |
PLAN FY 2012 |
PLAN FY 2013 |
PLAN FY 2014 |
PLAN FY 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 62% | 60% | 91% | 65% | 70% | 75% | 75% |
The performance target was met for FY 2012. The CFTC filed a record number of enforcement cases during the performance cycle, however many of those cases did not merit referral to other agencies because they were purely administrative proceedings. Of the 103 matters filed, 45 were administrative and not referred because they did not involve substantive violations of other criminal or civil government agency laws. Relevant to this performance measure, 53 of the remaining 58 matters did involve referrals, translating to the 91 percent referral rate.
The CFTC continued to devote considerable efforts to partner with law enforcement agencies at the international, national, regional, and state levels to address and deter conduct that violates the CEA and CFTC regulations. On the basis of feedback from outside agencies, the Commission focused its cooperative enforcement efforts on partnering with other agencies on major fraud cases. During the year, 94 percent of the major injunctive fraud cases involved related criminal investigations. Over 50 criminal indictments and judgments were filed that were related to CFTC enforcement matters. The CFTC also engaged in cooperative enforcement efforts with civil regulatory agencies, and approximately 50 percent of the major fraud actions involving related criminal investigations also involved parallel investigations with Federal civil authorities. The Commission also engaged in cooperative enforcement with international authorities in a wide range of matters involving fraud and/or market manipulation.
The CFTC worked to promote coordination of enforcement efforts with other law enforcement agencies to address commodities violations and other related financial wrongdoing. The CFTC entered into an agreement with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to provide the CFTC with special agents and intelligence analysts to enhance communication and information sharing. The CFTC also participated in national and international financial fraud enforcement working groups, and partnered with 10 regional groups comprised of Federal, state, and local civil and criminal authorities.
The CFTC provided training to many law enforcement groups and participated in speaker panels and seminars to promote cooperative enforcement efforts on conducting parallel criminal and civil prosecution of commodities market manipulation and fraud. The CFTC also worked with the U.S. Department of Justice and the SEC to conduct cross-agency training, especially training involving the new enforcement powers under the Dodd-Frank Act.