Dutch firm accused of plotting to 'bully' oil and gas markets

An alleged scheme to manipulate gas and oil prices was successful at driving prices both higher and lower, said Stephen Obie of the CFTC. (Jay Mallin/Bloomberg News)

WASHINGTON - The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, under pressure from Congress to regulate markets in the wake of record oil prices, accused Dutch trading company Optiver Holding BV of manipulating US energy markets.

The commission alleged the Amsterdam-based firm earned more than $1 million manipulating New York Mercantile Exchange crude oil, gasoline, and heating oil markets in March 2007. Optiver said late yesterday that it's reviewing the CFTC's complaint.

"We take the commission's action very seriously, and are treating it with utmost attention and care," the company said.

The news comes as the Senate prepares to vote as early as today on legislation to curb speculation in energy markets and expand the commission's authority and staffing. This is the first enforcement action to arise from a CFTC probe launched in May.

Bastiaan van Kempen, chief executive of Optiver, is one of three Optiver employees named in the complaint, filed yesterday by the commission in federal court in New York. The commission alleges van Kempen concealed the manipulation and made false statements to Nymex.

The other employees, who were in charge of trading at Optiver, were recorded on a phone call "acknowledging that their manipulative scheme was 'a fun game' and contemplating whether or not they could expand it to other markets, including 'soft' commodities such as sugar, wheat, or corn," the commission said.

The complaint alleges the trading firm tried to "bully the market" by buying and selling large volumes of futures contracts in the closing minutes of a trading day. The alleged scheme resulted in a $1 million profit for the defendants, the commission said.