Tower Research Capital

CFTC settled charges totaling $67.4 million with Tower Research Capital which, among other charges, was alleged to perpetuate conduct that involved placing orders to buy or sell futures contracts with the intent to cancel those orders prior to execution.

The traders implemented their manipulative and deceptive scheme by placing one or more orders that they wanted to get filled (genuine orders) on one side of the market, typically consisting of passive orders whose quantities are only partially visible to other market participants; and, on the opposite side of the market, placing one or more orders that the traders intended to cancel before execution (spoof orders), typically consisting of fully-visible passive orders for a larger total quantity.