UNITED STATES 

COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING 

COMMISSION 

REPUBLIQUE FRANCAISE 

COMMISSIONDESOPERATIONS 

DE BOURSE 

ADMINISTRATIVE AGREEMENT 

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") and the Commission des Operations 

de Bourse \COB') 

Considering, in light of the increasing international activity in the futures and options 

markets, the need for mutual cooperation and consultation in order to facilitate the 

performance of their functions in the matters mentioned hereinafter; 

Considering the importance of ensuring compliance with and enforcement of the Mures and 

options laws and regulations of France and of the United States; 

Willing therefore to establish the fullest mutual assistance, in order to facilitate the 

performance of the functions they are entrusted witli their respective States to enforce or 

secure compliance with any law or regulation, as that term is defined herein; 

Have agreed as follows: 

Article 1 • Purpose of the Agreement 

The purpose of this Agreement is to establish a system for a mutual assistance between the 

Administrative Authorities designated hereinafter, in order to facilitate the per1ormanoe of the 

functions they are entrusted with in their respective States and to enforce or secure 

compliance with any law or regulation as that term is defined herein, including those which: 

(1) prohibit and provide sanctions against fraudulent, deceptive, manipulative or 

other prohibited market practices; 

(2) ensure compliance by all Mures market participants with the laws and 

regulations governing market procedures and organization; and 

(3) ensure compliance by all futures and options professionals with the laws and 

regulations governing their profession and their operations on Mures and 

options markets, including laws and regulations concerning the transmission and 

execution of orders or the management, provision of advice concerning or 

trading of individual or collective Mures or options contracts accounts. 

Article 2 : Definitions 

' For the purposes of this Agreement : 

(1) 'Aulhority' means: 

(a) the Commodity Futures Trading Commission of the United States; or 

(b) the Commission des Operations de Bourse of France. 

(2) "requested Authority· means an Authority to whom a request under this 

Agreement is made. 

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(3) 'requesting Authority' means an Authority making a request under this 

Agreement. 

(4) 'person" means an individual, association, partnership, corporation or trust, 

or any other legal entity. 

(5} "futures contract' means any agreement, transaction involving or contract for 

the purchase or sale of a commodity, financial instrument or index-for future 

delivery within the jurisdiction of a iequested authority. 

(6) "option contract' means any agreement, transaction invotving or any contract 

or transaction which is of the character of, or is commonly known to the futures 

markets as an option, bid, offer, put, can, within the jurisdiction of a requested 

authority. 

(7) "futures market' means any market maintained for the offer or sale of a 

futures or option contract. 

(8) 'customer· means a person who diree11y or indirectly has, holds or _places an 

order to obtain, a beneficial interest in a Mures or option contract. 

(9) "professional carrying out operations in the Mures market" means: 

(a) any person who engages in a Mures or options business relating to 

offering, transacting, dearing or settling Mures or option contracts; 

collecting, executing or transmittlng orders given by customers in 

connection with futures or option contracts; engaging for his own account, 

or for the account of customers, in the individual or collective managemont, 

provision of advice concerning or trading of futures or option contracts 

accounts; or advising others in these matters, and 

(b) any person who is associated with another person who performs any 

function listed in subparagraph (a) including without limitation an employee 

or authorized representative. 

00) ·raws and regulations• means the provisions of the laws of the United States 

and France or any rule adopted or order Issued thereunder by one of the 

Authorities, concerning: 

(a) the prohibition and investigation of, and sanctions applicable to, 

misrepresentation, or the use of fraudulent, deceptive, manipulative or 

other prohibited practices in connection with any futures or option contract; 

(b) the prohibition and investigation of, and sanctions applicable to, any 

failure by a professional carrying out operations In the futures markets 

pertaining to his profession or his function in the futures markets, Including 

failures pertaining to the handling, transmission -and execution of orders, 

the management, provision of advice concerning or trading of any 

individual or collective Mures or option contracts account, the settlement 

of futures or option contracts transactions, the safeguarding and custody of 

customer futures and options contracts accounts, and any financial or 

operational requirements. 

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Article 3 : Scope of Assistance 

1. The Authorities agree to provide each other the fullest assistanca under this Agreement, in 

order to facilitate the exchange of information between such Authorities relating to facts in 

connection with investigations to determine wether any person has violated theJaws and 

regulations of the State of the requesting authortty. For that purpose, they agree to : 

(a} provide access to information in the'1r files; 

(b) !ake the evidence of persons; and 

(c) obtain documents from persons. 

2. In order to comply with any request for assistance relating to customers or professionals 

carrying out operations in the Mures markets, as well as any person likely to have 

information in connection with the facts contemplated by the request, the _requested 

Authority shall use all its powers and means according to procedures provided under the law 

of the State of the requested Authority. 

Article 4 : General Principles 

1. This Agreement does not prohibit either Authority from taking measures, to the extent 

permitted by international law, otherwise than as provided herein to obtain information 

necessary to ensure compliance with or enforcement of the laws or regulations. of their 

respective States. 

2. No provision of this Agreement shall be construed as conferring the right to ask for or 

challenge the execution of a request for assistance upon any person or authoriTy other than 

those designated in Article 2.1. 

3. AssistanGe under this Agreement may be denied where: - . 

(a) the execution of the request would prejudice the sovereignty, securrty, 

fundamental economic interests, or public order of the State of the requested 

Authority; 

(b) the request is not in accordance with the provisions set forth in this 

Agreement; 

(c) the information requested concerns facts which originated before the date of 

effect of this Agreement: 

(d) a criminal proceeding has already been initiated in the State of the requested 

Authority based upon the same facts and against the same persons, or the same 

persons have already been finally sanctioned on the same charges by the 

competent authorities of the State of the requested Authority, unless the 

requesting Authority can demonstrate that the relief or sanctions sought in any 

such proceeding would not be duplicative of any relief or sanctions obtained in 

the State of the requested Authority. 

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Article 5 ·.Requests for Assistance 

1. Requests for assistance must be made in writing and addressed to the requested 

Authority's contact officer listed in Appendix A. Requests shall be accompanied by a 

translation into English in the case of a request to the Commodity Futures Trading 

Commission and into French in the case of a request to the Commission des Operations de 

Bourse. 

2. The request for assistance shaH spectty th~ follo'Ning: 

(a) the information sought by the requesting Authortty; 

(b) a general description of both the matter which is the subject of the request, 

the purpose for which the information is sought, and the grounds upon which the 

breach of the law or regulation is suspected; 

(c) the persons or entities suspected by tbe requesting Authority of possessing 

the information sought, or the places where such information may be obtained, if 

the requesting Authorrty is kno'Niedgeable thereof: 

(d) the laws or regulations pertaining to the matter which is the subject of the 

request; and 

(e) the desired time period for the reply and, \¥here appropriate, the urgency 

thereof. 

3. In the event of urgency, requests for assistance and replies to such requests may be 

transmitted by summary or emergency procedures defined by mutual agreement of the 

Authorities, provided that they are confirmed in the manner prescribed in paragraphs 1 and 2 

of this article. 

Article 6 : Execution of Reauests 

1. Access to information held in the files of the requested authority will be provided upon 

request of the requesting Authority accord·1ng to Article 5. 

2. If the requesting Authorrty so specifies in the request, the testimony or statement of any 

person who has participated directly or indirectly in the facts specffied in the request, or who 

has information relating to those facts, shall be taken and the production of any relevant 

document shall be required. Testimony and statements shall be taken In the same manner 

and to the same extent as In investigations or proceedings in the State of the requested 

Authority. 

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3. A witness whose testimony or statement is taken pursuant to a request shall have the right 

to have counsel present during the taking of the testimony or statement. 

4. While it shall not be the normal practice, i1 the requested Authority consents, 

representatives designated by the requesting Authority may be present when a statement or 

testimony is taken and may prescribe specffic questions to be asked; 

5. While it shall not be the normal practice, if the requested Authority consents, a verbatim 

transcript may be made of the testimony. 

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Article 7 : Permissible Use of Information 

1. The requesting Authority may use the information turnish~d solely: 

(a) for purposes stated in the request, including ensuring compliance with or 

enforcement of the legal provisions speclfied in the request; or 

(b) for purposes within the general framework of the use stated in the request, 

including conducting a ci'vil or administrative enforcement proceeding, assisting 

in a setf-regulatory enforcement proceeding, assisting in a proceeding, Including 

a proceeding whose purpose is to permit a subsequent criminal prosecution, or 

conducting any investigation related thereto for any general charge applicable to 

the violation of the provision specified in the request. 

2. To use the information furnished for any purpose other than those stated in paragraph 1 of 

this article, the requesting Authority must first inform the requested Authority of its intention 

and provide it the opportunity to oppose the utilization. H under such conditions the 

requested Authority does not oppose the use of the Information for purposes other than 

those stated in paragraph 1 of this article, it may subject the utilization of the information to 

certain conditions. If use of the information is opposed by the requested Authortty, the 

Authorities agree to consutt pursuant to Article 9 concerning the raasons for the refusal and 

the circumstances under which use of the information might otherwise be allowed. 

Article 8 : Conftdentia!itv of Requests 

1. Each Authority shall keep confidential requests made within the framework of this 

Agreement, the contents of such requests, and any other mat1ers arising during the 

operation of this Agreement, including consuttations between the Authorities. 

2. In all cases, the requesting Authority shall keep confidential any information received 

pursuant to this Agreement to the same extent as such information would be kept 

conftdential in the territory of the State of the requested Authority, except in the case where 

the information provided must be disclosed in the course of its use pursuant to article 7 

above. 

3. However, the Authorities may, by mutual agreement, make an exception to the principle 

set forth in Paragraphs 1 and 2 above, to the extent permitted by the law applicable to each 

Authority. 

Article 9 : Disputes and Consultations 

1. In any case of dispute over the meaning of any term used in this Agreement, the 

Authorities shall define the terms herein by mutual agreement. -

2. The Authorities will keep the operation of this Agreement under continuous review and will 

consult with a view to improving tts operation and resolving any mat1ers which may arise. In 

particular, the Authorities will consuft upon request in the event of: 

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(a) a refusal by one Authority to comply wtth a request for information on the 

grounds set forth in paragraph 3 of Article 4 or in paragraph 2 of Article 7; or 

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3. The Authorities may agree on such pracf1cal measures as may be necessary to facilitate 

the implementation of this Agreement. 

Article 10: Entrv into Force 

Each authority :>ha!! inform the other Authority of the adopt\on of the domestic measures that 

may be necessary to implement the provisions of this Agreement. This Agreement shall 

immediately enter into force upon the exchange of such letters of notification by the 

Authori1ies. 

Article 11 : Te~mination 

This Agreement shall remain in force unless terminated by either Authority upon 30 days 

written notice to the other Authority. 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the Undersigned have signed this agreement. 

DONE at , in duplicate this ( jt. day of / r'/Orn the 

French an uages, each text being equally a 

FOR THE COMMISSION 

DES OPERATIONS DE BOURSE 

Jean SAINT·GEOURS 

President 

FOR THE COMMODITY FUTURES 

TRADING COMMISSION 

Wendy L GRAMM 

Chairman