Public Statements & Remarks

Supporting Statement of Commissioner Dan M. Berkovitz: In re Plutus Financial, Inc.

July 13, 2020

I am issuing a statement on this enforcement matter to highlight a critical point regarding the Commission’s authority to regulate cross-border swaps trading.

I support the Commission’s issuance of the order settling charges against Plutus Financial and Plutus Technologies Philippines for violations of Sections 2(e) and 4d(a)(1) of the Commodity Exchange Act.  The Commission found that at times, Plutus Technologies, a Philippines corporation, illegally offered and entered into off-exchange swaps to non-U.S. retail customers.  Critically, the Order notes that Plutus Financial d/b/a Abra, a California-based entity, set the price of and established the hedging mechanism for these swap contracts, and performed other managerial functions related to the contracts.  This enforcement action illustrates the importance of the Commission’s authority to apply and enforce Dodd-Frank Act requirements when wrongful conduct occurs in the United States, regardless of the location or status of the counterparties.

-CFTC-