The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has imposed a $48 million fine on TOTSA TotalEnergies Trading SA, a Swiss subsidiary of the French energy giant TotalEnergies SE.
The fine comes in response to allegations that the company attempted to manipulate the market for European benchmark gasoline futures.
According to the CFTC, TOTSA engaged in a scheme in March 2018 where it deliberately flooded the market with physical EBOB gasoline at below-market prices while holding a significant short position on EBOB futures.
This tactic, known as “spoofing,” was designed to drive down the price of EBOB futures, thereby increasing the value of TOTSA’s short position. The EBOB benchmark gasoline is primarily traded in Europe and is regulated by the CFTC.
Ian McGinley, Director of Enforcement at the CFTC, stated that the scheme represented an attack on market integrity, emphasizing that such actions would not be tolerated in any market under the CFTC’s jurisdiction.
The regulator highlighted that while TOTSA did cooperate to some extent with the investigation, it failed to adequately preserve or promptly produce certain WhatsApp messages that were relevant to the inquiry.
However, the decision to fine TOTSA was not unanimous. Caroline Pham, a Republican commissioner on the five-member CFTC panel, dissented, arguing that the evidence against TOTSA was insufficiently robust.
TotalEnergies SE, the parent company of TOTSA, has not yet issued a response to the fine or the allegations.
