Crypto market maker CLS Global pleads guilty after FBI sting operation and investigation

On January 22nd, according to Reuters, CLS Global, a cryptocurrency financial services company headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, agreed on Tuesday to plead guilty to US charges against it, alleging that the company provided services to assist in the manipulation of the market, involving a digital token created at the request of the FBI to expose fraud in the cryptocurrency industry. CLS Global was one of three companies and 15 individuals indicted by federal prosecutors in Boston last year following an undercover investigation of "Operation Token Mirrors", which marked the first time the FBI personally directed the creation of digital tokens and set up counterfeit cryptocurrency companies to trap fraudsters.
According to prosecutors, CLS was one of three market makers that provided illegal trading services to cryptocurrency companies and agreed to assist in the manipulation of the FBI-backed market for NexFundAI tokens, which run on the Ethereum blockchain, during the sting operation. CLS admitted in court documents that it agreed to provide services, including bogus trading, for NexFundAI tokens.
On Tuesday, prosecutors announced that CLS will plead guilty to two counts of fraudulent manipulation of cryptocurrency trading volumes and pay a $428,059 fine. In addition, CLS will be prohibited from participating in cryptocurrency trading on trading platforms available to U.S. investors, or providing services to U.S. cryptocurrency clients. CLS Global also committed to annual certification of its business practices and agreed to settle related civil charges brought by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).