The CFTC said in a statement that JSC VTB Bank, based in St. Petersburg, Russia, and VTB Capital, which is incorporated in Britain, executed 100 block trades on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange between December 2010 and June 2013 with a notional value of $36 billion.
The purpose of the trades was to transfer VTB's cross-currency risk to its subsidiary, VTB Capital, at prices more favorable than it could have obtained from third parties, the CFTC said.
The trades were fictitious and caused the exchange to record prices that were not fair and competitive, it said.