ICE Futures U.S. has taken disciplinary action against Zihao Chen for violations of a number of the rules of the Exchange, including trade practice violations.
A Hearing Panel of the Exchange’s Business Conduct Committee found that, from June 2014 through August 2019, Chen violated Exchange Rules 4.02(c), 4.02(d), 4.02(f), and 4.04. The Panel found that on multiple occasions during the Relevant Period, Chen traded for his personal account against the accounts of his employer over which he had trading authority for the purpose of passing equity to his personal account or for obtaining a beneficial price when offsetting positions in his personal account. Chen did so without his employer’s knowledge and against his employer’s company policy.
When trading against his employer, Chen’s most common method was to first establish a position in his personal account in the open market and then liquidate that position partially or in full against his employer’s account. Chen generated a total profit of $1,076,160 to the detriment of his employer.
The Panel also found that Chen violated Exchange Rule 21.04 by failing to provide testimony in response to the Exchange’s summons. The Panel determined that Chen be permanently banned from access to the Exchange.
Chen is permanently banned from access to all ICE Futures U.S. electronic trading platforms, including ICE Block, and is directed to pay restitution to his employer in the amount of $1,076,160.