NOTICE OF DISCIPLINARY ACTION

FILE NO.:

CME 16-0450-BC

NON-MEMBER:

Andrew Akins

CME RULE VIOLATION:

Rule 575.A. Disruptive Practices Prohibited

No person shall enter or cause to be entered an order with the intent, at the time of order entry, to cancel the order before execution or to modify the order to avoid execution.

FINDINGS:

Pursuant to an offer of settlement in which Andrew Akins (“Akins”) neither admitted nor denied the rule violations upon which the penalty is based, on August 9, 2017, a Panel of the CME Business Conduct Committee found that on one or more occasions between December 2015, and February 2016, Akins entered and canceled orders in the March 2016 E-mini S&P futures market on the Globex electronic trading platform during the pre-opening period for the purpose of identifying the depth of the order book. The entry and cancelation of these orders caused fluctuations in the publicly displayed Indicative Opening Price (“IOP”). The Panel concluded that Akins thereby violated CME Rule 575.A.

PENALTY:

In accordance with the settlement offer, the Panel ordered Akins to pay a fine of $10,000. The Panel also suspended Akins from accessing any CME Group Inc. trading floor, and direct and indirect access to all electronic trading and clearing platforms owned or controlled by CME Group Inc. for 25 business days, beginning on the effective date below and continuing through and including September 15, 2017.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

August 11, 2017