The CFTC released its enforcement results for FY 2017 (fiscal year ended 9/30/17), during which time the CFTC brought 49 enforcement-related actions and obtained orders totaling $413 million in restitution, disgorgement and penalties.

By comparison, in FY 2016 the CFTC filed 68 enforcement-related actions and obtained orders totaling approximately $1.29 billion in restitution, disgorgement, and penalties. The numbers equate to significant declines in 2017 - a 28% drop in enforcement actions and a 68% drop in financial sanctions.

Depending how you view those statistics, one can either say the agency's regulatory might in 2017 was significantly defanged, or its regulatory efforts in 2017 were somewhat nullified by effective compliance efforts by market participants. Hmmmm!!!

YOU WANT STATISTICS?    In 2017, the CFTC obtained $334 million in civil monetary penalties and $79 million in restitution and disgorgement orders. Of the civil monetary penalties imposed, the CFTC collected and deposited at the U.S. Treasury more than $265 million (or 79% of the orders' value). Two-thirds of the 49 enforcement actions involved: Retail Fraud (20 cases); or, Manipulation, Attempted Manipulation, False Reporting, Disruptive Trading (12 cases).