Crypto
UAE-based Crypto Firm CLS Global Fined $428,000 for Wash Trading Scheme in U.S. Markets
CLS Global, a UAE-based financial services firm, has been fined $428,059 after admitting to wash trading in U.S. cryptocurrency markets. The firm pleaded guilty to market manipulation and wire fraud charges after a sting operation led by the FBI. The charges relate to CLS Global’s role in manipulating cryptocurrency trading volumes to attract investors.
CLS Global was sentenced in federal court in Boston on April 2, 2025, and was ordered to pay the fine, which includes both seized cryptocurrency and monetary penalties. Additionally, the company was sentenced to three years of probation, during which it is banned from participating in cryptocurrency markets accessible to U.S. investors. The company’s actions were revealed during an undercover operation aimed at detecting fraudulent activities like wash trading.
The case stems from CLS Global’s involvement with NexFundAI, a cryptocurrency company and Ethereum-based token created by the FBI as part of an operation targeting market manipulation. CLS Global agreed to provide market-making services for NexFundAI, which involved artificially inflating trading volumes on Uniswap, a decentralized exchange. CLS Global used an algorithm that allowed for self-trading across multiple wallets to mimic natural buying and selling, making it appear as though there was legitimate market activity. The firm’s goal was to help NexFundAI meet exchange listing requirements and create a false impression of market demand.
In video conferences with law enforcement in 2024, a CLS Global employee admitted to using the algorithm to engage in wash trading and acknowledged that the practice was deceptive. “I know that it’s wash trading and I know people might not be happy about it,” the employee said. The company’s manipulation of the market led to fraudulent trading activity designed to lure in investors.
As part of the plea agreement, CLS Global is also facing a civil enforcement action from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which alleges violations of securities laws. Any funds seized from CLS Global will be credited in both the criminal and civil resolutions. The company is prohibited from providing services to U.S.-based clients or participating in U.S. cryptocurrency markets during its probation period.
CLS Global, which employs over 50 people in the UAE, now faces significant legal and financial consequences for its actions. The case underscores growing concerns around cryptocurrency market manipulation and highlights the U.S. authorities’ ongoing efforts to clamp down on fraudulent practices in the crypto space. The FBI’s operation, which targeted wash trading and other deceptive activities, serves as a reminder of the scrutiny that cryptocurrency firms now face as regulators take action to protect investors.
WESTLAKE, Ohio – A convenience store clerk at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 26 alerted a police dispatcher that a female customer was feeding large amounts of cash into a cryptocurrency ATM at the store on Center Ridge Road at Dover Center Road.
The clerk said the customer would not believe the clerk’s warning that she was being scammed.
Officers arrived to find the 71-year-old still “anxiously depositing” cash into the machine. Officers told her to stop, but she did not believe the uniformed men. The officers talked to her for several minutes before she finally believed that there was an issue. She was still on the phone with the scammer at the time.
The incident started that morning when the victim received a pop-up message on her home computer instructing her to call a provided support phone number due to a supposed issue with the computer’s operating system. She called the number and was connected to a man who claimed he was a representative from Apple, according to a police department press release.
The man talked her into allowing him remote access to her computer while he asked for her bank information. The scammer talked the victim into believing that there was a problem with her accounts, and she was at risk of losing $18,000 in connection with pornographic websites out of China or Mexico.
She was connected to a fake fraud department for her bank, and another scammer persuaded her to go to a bank and withdraw as much cash as they would allow. The scammer even told her to give the teller a story about needing cash to buy a car. The perpetrator kept the woman on the phone as she took out cash and traveled to the crypto ATM. The victim had deposited approximately $5,500 before officers persuaded her to stop. The Westlake Detective Bureau is attempting to recover the lost funds.
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