In a deal with U.S. derivatives regulators, a former executive at failed crypto platform FTX received trading and registration bans, along with monetary sanctions.
Under a new consent order entered in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the former head of engineering at FTX, Nishad Singh, was banned from trading for five years, banned from registration for eight years and ordered to pay US$3.7 million in disgorgement.
The court order follows an initial order that was entered back in 2023, which found Singh liable for breaches alleged by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), including fraud by misappropriation and aiding and abetting that fraud.
The conduct bans entered Wednesday both date from the initial order, which also imposed a permanent injunction against Singh and required him to cooperate with regulators.
The CFTC noted that it’s not currently seeking restitution or monetary penalties against Singh, based partly on his continued cooperation with the regulator’s investigation and related legal proceedings, including a parallel criminal action.
In that case, Singh pled guilty to six counts, including conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, and was sentenced to time served, followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered jointly liable to pay US$11 billion in forfeiture, stemming from the FTX debacle.
The disgorgement ordered Wednesday is deemed to be satisfied by the forfeiture order imposed in the criminal case.
“The injunctions and monetary relief imposed here demonstrate the significant benefits that may be achieved through cooperating with the CFTC,” said David Miller, director of enforcement at the CFTC, in a release, adding that the resolution “reflects the commission’s commitment to rewarding and incentivizing material assistance in [enforcement] investigations.”