AMARANTH TRADER BRIAN HUNTER FINED $30 MILLION FOR ALLEGED MANIPULATION OF NATURAL GAS FUTURES

Former head energy trader at now-defunct hedge fund Amaranth Brian Hunter was assessed a civil penalty of $30 million for allegedly violating the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (“FERC”) anti-manipulation rules. FERC had charged Hunter with causing artificial prices in physical natural gas as an outgrowth of his alleged scheme to artificially depress the price of NYMEX natural gas futures on three dates in 2006. The alleged scheme involved depressing the settlement prices of NYMEX futures, which allegedly enabled Amaranth to profit via a short position in natural gas swaps traded on the InterContinental Exchange (“ICE”).

The Gray firm and co-counsel represent a class of persons who transacted in NYMEX natural gas futures between February and September 2006 who were harmed by the same alleged scheme. (In re Amaranth Natural Gas Commodities Litig., S.D.N.Y. Docket No. 07-CV-6377 (SAS). The Court certified the class on September 30, 2010 after granting an order attaching some $72 million in Amaranth’s assets in May of 2010. The class certification order and attachment order are accessible via other entries on this blog. The FERC news release announcing the fine against Hunter is accessible below.

11.4.21 ferc release re hunter fine.pdf (68.82 kb)