Notice2025-17400
Policy Statement Concerning Agency Referrals for Potential Criminal Enforcement
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 10, 2025
Effective
September 10, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Abstract
This notice describes plans of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "Commission") to address criminally liable regulatory offenses under the recent executive order on Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 173 (Wednesday, September 10, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 173 (Wednesday, September 10, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Page 43586]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-17400]
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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
Policy Statement Concerning Agency Referrals for Potential
Criminal Enforcement
AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
ACTION: Policy statement.
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SUMMARY: This notice describes plans of the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission (the ``Commission'') to address criminally liable regulatory
offenses under the recent executive order on Fighting
Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations.
DATES: The Commission's policy statement is effective September 10,
2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Meghan Tente, General Counsel,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#325f46575c465772515446511c555d44"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="600d14050e140520030614034e070f16">[email protected]</span></a> at (202) 418-5785, Commodity Futures Trading
Commission, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street NW, Washington, DC
20581.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 9, 2025, the President issued
Executive Order 14294 (``E.O.''), titled Fighting Overcriminalization
in Federal Regulations. 90 FR 20363 (published May 14, 2025). Section 7
of E.O. 14294 provides that within 45 days of the order, and in
consultation with the Attorney General, each agency should publish
guidance in the Federal Register describing its plan to address
criminally liable regulatory offenses, including by considering certain
factors when deciding whether to refer alleged violations of criminal
regulatory offenses to the Department of Justice. The Executive Order
defines a criminal regulatory offense to mean ``a Federal regulation
that is enforceable by a criminal penalty.'' In accordance with the
Executive Order, the Commission is publishing this framework for
Commission staff consideration of whether to refer potential
violations, including of criminal regulatory offenses, to the
Department of Justice.
Consistent with that requirement, the Commission advises the public
that by May 9, 2026, the Commission, in consultation with the Attorney
General, will provide to the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget (``OMB'') a report containing: (1) a list of all criminal
regulatory offenses enforceable by Commission or the Department of
Justice (``DOJ''); and (2) for each such criminal regulatory offense,
the range of potential criminal penalties for a violation and the
applicable mens rea standard \1\ for the criminal regulatory offense.
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\1\ ``Mens rea'' means the state of mind that by law must be
proven to convict a particular defendant of a particular crime. E.O.
14294, sec. 3(c).
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This notice also announces a general policy, subject to appropriate
exceptions and to the extent consistent with law, that when the
Commission is deciding whether to refer alleged violations of criminal
regulatory offenses \2\ to DOJ, Commission staff should consider, among
other factors:
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\2\ See section 9 of the Commodity Exchange Act (``CEA''), 7
U.S.C. 13, which, among other things, makes it a felony to willfully
violate any rule or regulation promulgated under the CEA. Section
9(a)(5) of the CEA, 7 U.S.C. 13(a)(5).
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<bullet> The harm or risk of harm, pecuniary or otherwise, caused
by the potential offense;
<bullet> The potential gain to the putative defendant that could
result from the offense;
<bullet> Whether the putative defendant held specialized knowledge,
expertise, or was licensed in an industry related to the rule or
regulation at issue;
<bullet> Evidence, if any is available, of the putative defendant's
general awareness of the unlawfulness of his conduct as well as his
knowledge or lack thereof of the regulation at issue;
<bullet> Whether the putative defendant is a recidivist or has
otherwise engaged in a pattern of misconduct; and
<bullet> Whether the involvement of the Department of Justice will
provide additional meaningful protection to participants in the
derivatives markets.
This general policy is not intended to, and does not, create any
right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in
equity by any party against the United States, its departments,
agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other
person.
Issued in Washington, DC, on September 5, 2025, by the
Commission.
Robert Sidman,
Deputy Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2025-17400 Filed 9-9-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6351-01-P
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