CFTC charges overseas trading company with engaging in illegal crypto transactions

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has charged an overseas trading company with "engaging in unlawful retail commodity transactions" involving ether, litecoin and bitcoin. 

According to the CFTC, the Laino Group Limited — also known as PaxForex — violated the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) by "failing to conduct these transactions subject to the rules of a board of trade that had been designated or registered by the CFTC as a contract market."  The agency also says that PaxForex broke the law by failing to register as a futures commission merchant. 

PaxForex allegedly engaged in illegal transactions from as early as March 2018 to present. 

The CFTC filed the civil enforcement action against PaxForex on Monday in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Texas. "In its continuing litigation, the CFTC seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil monetary penalties, restitution, permanent registration and trading bans, and a permanent injunction against further violations of the CEA as charged," the agency said in a statement.