Who was sanctioned, and for what?

ADM had artificially inflated the results of the Nutrition segment through retroactive intra-group rebates and price adjustments in order to show growth targets of 15 to 20 %. ADM is paying a civil penalty of 40 million USD.

Authority / court

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Disclosure and reporting obligations

Legal basis

Antifraud-, Reporting-, Buchführungs- und interne Kontrollvorschriften der US-Bundeswertpapiergesetze (Settled Order der SEC)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Food and agriculture

Mitigating circumstances

ADM's cooperation and remedial measures were taken into account

Liability of senior managers

Measures against individuals are not reported here.

Original amount 40,000,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 27 Jan 2026.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 3 · Direct link

The CFTC fined the Singapore-based agricultural supply chain company 3,250,000 USD. In August and September 2021, subsidiaries reported five sales of more than 375,000 bales of US cotton worth over 190 million USD to an Asian buyer to the US Department of Agriculture one to five weeks late, and left them out of seven Form 304 reports to the CFTC. According to the order, this happened knowingly or recklessly, although the company knew that such sales data affects the price of cotton.

Authority / court

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Disclosure and reporting obligations

Legal basis

Section 6(c)(1)(A) Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. § 9(1)(A)); CFTC Regulations 19.02(a) und 180.1(a)(4); frühere CFTC Regulation 19.01(a) (17 C.F.R. § 19.01(a) (2020))

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Food and agriculture

Mitigating circumstances

The CFTC recognised the company's cooperation with the investigation and the remediation it described.

Published

27 Sep 2024

Original amount 3,250,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 27 Sep 2024.

Checked against the official source on 8 Oct 2026 · Company name anonymised since 27 Sep 2026 · Direct link

In its 2019 and 2020 annual reports, the group claimed that tests confirmed the recyclability of its coffee pods, but failed to disclose that two of the largest US recycling companies had expressed significant concerns and stated that they did not currently intend to accept the pods. The group is paying a civil penalty of 1.5 million USD.

Authority / court

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Disclosure and reporting obligations

Legal basis

Section 13(a) Securities Exchange Act 1934, Rule 13a-1

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Food and agriculture

Original amount 1,500,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 10 Sep 2024.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 4 · Company name anonymised since 10 Sep 2026 · Direct link

The CFTC imposed a fine of 750,000 USD, jointly and severally, on a Brazilian and a Swiss company of a Brazilian sugar and energy group. From March to September 2022, the two group companies executed 44 exchange for physical transactions in sugar futures on a US futures exchange between accounts that were not independently controlled, in order to transfer physical sugar within the group; the CFTC treated them as prohibited wash sales and non-competitive transactions. More than 50,000 contracts worth over 1 billion USD were involved; the companies admitted the facts.

Authority / court

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Market abuse and insider dealing

Legal basis

Section 4c(a)(1) und (2)(A) Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. § 6c(a)(1), (2)(A)); CFTC Regulation 1.38(a)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Food and agriculture

Mitigating circumstances

The CFTC acknowledged the remediation described: stopping intra-group EFPs, a written compliance manual, training on US law, annual training programmes and additional compliance staff.

Published

19 Aug 2024

Original amount 750,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 19 Aug 2024.

Checked against the official source on 8 Oct 2026 · Company name anonymised since 19 Aug 2026 · Direct link

The CFTC fined a grain merchandiser from Minnesota 3 million USD for attempted manipulation of the July 2016 and March 2017 oats futures contracts. According to the order, with the knowledge of senior personnel, the merchandiser built up large long positions close to the speculative position limits, held them into the delivery period and took delivery of oats, intending to raise the futures price and obtain better-quality oats at lower delivery prices. The CFTC recognised significant remedial measures.

Authority / court

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Market abuse and insider dealing

Legal basis

Section 9(a)(2) Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. § 13(a)(2))

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Food and agriculture

Culpability

intentional

Mitigating circumstances

According to the order, the merchandiser revised its policies and procedures and introduced training for all personnel trading commodity interests.

Published

23 Oct 2023

Original amount 3,000,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 23 Oct 2023.

Checked against the official source on 8 Oct 2026 · Company name anonymised since 23 Oct 2025 · Direct link