The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced that Division of Enforcement Director Ian McGinley will depart the agency on Jan. 17, 2025. Mr. McGinley has served as Director of Enforcement since February 2023.
“Ian led the Division of Enforcement to two groundbreaking years, raising the bar to historical heights, which I am confident will deter future misconduct and continue to prioritize victim compensation,” said CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam. “Under Ian’s leadership, the division has brought first of their kind cases in both traditional and emerging markets, published cutting-edge guidance, and reorganized and consolidated our analytical units to strengthen the agency’s ability to detect misconduct. On behalf of the entire CFTC, I thank Ian for returning to public service and leading the division during this critical time.”
“It has been an incredible honor to serve as the CFTC’s Director of Enforcement,” said Mr. McGinley. “I have always said the division punches far above its weight. Consistently obtaining judgments multiples greater than the CFTC’s entire budget, the Division of Enforcement works tirelessly on behalf of the American people, bringing some of law enforcement’s most complex and impactful cases. I thank the Chairman for his confidence in me and the career division staff who work under intense pressure to protect the integrity of our markets.”
During Mr. McGinley’s tenure, the Division of Enforcement accomplished and prioritized work in the following areas: (1) establishing the CFTC as a premier law enforcement agency for digital asset enforcement; (2) bringing innovative cases in emerging areas, such as insider trading and voluntary carbon markets; (3) creating two new Task Forces: the Cybersecurity and Emerging Technology (including artificial intelligence) Task Force; and the Environmental Fraud Task Force; (4) increasing transparency though issuing public guidance on penalties, admissions, and monitors/consultants; and (5) creating a new Surveillance and Enforcement Data Analytics Office to enhance the division’s surveillance and analytic capabilities.
Immediately before joining the CFTC, Mr. McGinley was a partner at a law firm. Mr. McGinley also served for more than a decade as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he was Co-Chief of the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit, a member, a member of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force, and Chief of the Narcotics Unit. Mr. McGinley received his J.D. from New York University School of Law. He holds an M.P.P. from the Harvard Kennedy School and an M.Sc. with merit from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Mr. McGinley received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University. He clerked for the Honorable Gene E.K. Pratter, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
