On May 8, the Division of Enforcement (the “Division”) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued its first public enforcement manual (the “Enforcement Manual”). The Enforcement Manual explains the roles of the CFTC and Division generally, and outlines certain general policies and procedures that guide the Division in its investigation and prosecution of violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC Regulations.

In addition to its serving as a general reference for the Division staff, the Enforcement Manual also provides the general public with information regarding the Division’s operations, keeping consistent with the CFTC’s intent to increase transparency, certainty and consistency in enforcement principles.

The Enforcement Manual covers a broad array of topics, including:

• an overview of the CFTC and CEA and the underlying regulations;

• an overview of the Division;

• how the Division deals with enforcement “leads;”

• opening and conduct of preliminary inquiries and investigations;

• commencement and conduct of litigation by the Division;

• consideration of self-reporting, cooperation and remediation in enforcement decisions;

• enforcement cooperation with other regulators;

• assertion and protection of privileges and confidentiality; and

• the CFTC’s whistleblower program.

The Enforcement Manual is available here.