Traders manipulated oil prices – U.S.

Steve Hargreaves,
CNN
Friday, July 25, 2008

The government charged an oil trading firm Thursday with manipulating oil prices in the first complaint to be announced since the regulators began a new investigation into wrongdoings in the energy markets.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission accused Optiver Holding, two of its subsidiaries and three employees with manipulation and attempted manipulation of crude oil, heating oil and gasoline futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

“Optiver traders amassed large trading positions, then conducted trades in such a way to bully and hammer the markets,” CFTC Acting Chairman Walt Lukken said at a press conference. “These charges go to the heart of the CFTC’s core mission of detecting and rooting out illegal manipulation of the markets.”

(Article continues below)

In May, under the backdrop of record oil prices and calls from legislators to crack down on speculative oil trading and market manipulation, the CFTC announced a wide-ranging probe into oil price manipulation. The agency says it has dozens of investigations ongoing.

The complaint filed Thursday names Bastiaan van Kempen, chief executive; Christopher Dowson, a head trader; and Randal Meijer, head of trading at an Optiver subsidiary.

The CFTC said the firm attempted to “bang the close” by amassing large positions just before markets closed – forcing prices up – then selling them quickly to drive prices down and pocketing the difference.

Full article here

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4 Responses to “Traders manipulated oil prices – U.S.”

1. Giant Shadows Says:
   July 25th, 2008 at 7:53 am

   http://youtube.com/watch?v=1V5iCUBEUx4

   We must unite or the dog will bite-

2. Lord Sacrificer (the Leech) Says:
   July 25th, 2008 at 8:41 am

   Your “feelow American having fun jerking everybody Around
   in the name of FREEDOM. Yea baby

   Nothing changes read WAR IS A RACKET General Smedley

   (2 time Medal of Honor winner) BUTLER you will then really
   know how Your Fellow Elite American thinks

   Another Book Liars Poker all about the Men Of Paper
   we should never forget the Sacrifice Made By Americas Elite
   for the cause of FREEDOM The asset base of Americas Elite
   must be grown and protected at all COSTS

3. David Lee Rothschild Says:
   July 25th, 2008 at 2:08 pm

   What a joke this story is.

   All that has happened here is that Optiver has pissed off some bigger firm or network of firms who have manipulated the market many billion times worse for much longer, and who own the regulators anyway. Said firm or firms have just told their in-the-pocket regulators to:

   1) Make an example of these radical Dutch upstarts.
   and/or
   2) Create a diversion so some bigger crime can be perpetrated.
   and/or
   3) Bust someone in order to look like they’re actually doing there job.

   The really funny thing — not reported in this CNN version, but in other media outlets like the CBC — is that the Optiver scam, it that’s what it really was, only made $1,000,000!!! Holy s--- . . . if you’re lucky, that might even buy you a doghouse in the Hamptons.

4. John Payne Says:
   July 26th, 2008 at 6:38 am

   Pressures will force us all into the streets at some point whether we like ti or not. More oil or chaos. Those are the options.