Feds: All Commodity Traders To Be Audited

[Donnachaidh]

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/feds-all-commodity-traders-be-audited

Get out the popcorn! You know how they got Al Capone on tax evasion? Maybe we're finally going to see a some Wall Street bankers go to jail for something, even if it's not for crashing the economy. But if we're going to audit futures trading, it could break the backs of food and oil speculators who are driving up the cost of food worldwide:

Federal regulators have ordered an audit of every American futures trading firm to verify that customer money is protected, a move that comes after roughly $600 million in client funds were discovered to be missing from MF Global, the bankrupt brokerage firm once run by Jon S. Corzine.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal regulator searching for the missing money at MF Global, will audit many of the nation’s largest futures commission merchants, according to a person briefed on the decision. Exchanges like the CME Group will examine smaller firms to ensure they are keeping customer money separate from company money, a fundamental rule on Wall Street.

The futures commission also announced on Thursday that it had formally opened an investigation into MF Global, a largely symbolic move that indicated the seriousness of the case. The agency has already issued subpoenas to MF Global and its auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers, but the commission had to vote before announcing a full-scale investigation.

Video and more at the link --

[valerief]

1. Audited by whom? By other commodity traders? That's free market self-regulation that the evil 1%ers

worship.

[PoliticAverse]

2. Apparently MF Global was audited but they moved the money out right after the audit...

Other companies that were audited: Refco (major trading fraud and bankruptcy), Enron.

[newfie11]

3. can we hope they will be prosecuted if something illegal is found

or will it be a slap on the wrist and business as usual.

[Fumesucker]

4. Hey, all you crooked traders out there... Were comiiiiiiiing..

So get all your ducks nicely lined up before we get there...

[DJ13]

5. Not buying this

It will end up as another whitewash to absolve those responsible for manipulating the commodities markets from potential legal problems in the future.

[Donnachaidh]

6. yup -- makes them look like they are being good public servants during an election cycle

But they will be doing what you said.