CFTC & NFA

The NFA's Business Conduct Committee can issue an emergency enforcement action, suspending or restricting a registrant's ability to conduct business, when it concludes emergency action is required to protect the public. The registrant typically has days to respond and present a defense before the Committee acts. Effective defense requires immediate engagement and the ability to present a complete factual and legal defense on short notice.

An NFA emergency action is one of the fastest-moving enforcement proceedings in the regulatory landscape, and one of the most immediately damaging to a business. The Business Conduct Committee can suspend a registrant's ability to transact business within days of identifying a concern, often before the registrant has an opportunity to present its position. The response is immediate: (1) Retain experienced CFTC/NFA defense counsel; the response timeline is measured in days, not weeks; (2) Request an expedited hearing before the Business Conduct Committee to present your defense; (3) Preserve all records and communications related to the conduct at issue; (4) Assess whether any parallel CFTC or DOJ investigation is likely based on the nature of the emergency action. At the hearing, you must present a complete factual and legal defense demonstrating either that the emergency action was factually unsupported or that the conduct is not sufficiently serious to justify immediate suspension. That NFA matter, completed July 2024, demonstrates that emergency proceedings can be successfully defended, but the window is short and the preparation must be intense.