UAE Crypto Firm Pleads Guilty to Market Manipulation in FBI Sting

CLS Global admitted to orchestrating illegal wash trading schemes using an FBI-created token and faces fines, forfeitures, and U.S. market bans.

CLS Global, a UAE-based cryptocurrency market maker, pleaded guilty to charges of market manipulation and wire fraud in a U.S. federal court.
The FBI's undercover operation, 'Operation Token Mirrors,' used a fake cryptocurrency, NexFundAI, to expose fraudulent trading practices in the crypto industry.
CLS Global's automated trading systems generated $595,000 in fake trading volume for NexFundAI, accounting for 98% of the token's activity on Uniswap.
The company was fined $428,059, forfeited funds in multiple crypto exchange accounts, and is barred from U.S. crypto markets for three years under the plea agreement.
This case marks the first criminal charges for wash trading in the cryptocurrency sector and includes related civil enforcement actions by the SEC.