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7 U.S. Code § 6c. Prohibited transactions
(a) In general
(1) ProhibitionIt shall be unlawful for any person to offer to enter into, enter into, or confirm the execution of a transaction described in paragraph (2) involving the purchase or sale of any commodity for future delivery (or any option on such a transaction or option on a commodity) or swap if the transaction is used or may be used to—
(A)
hedge any transaction in interstate commerce in the commodity or the product or byproduct of the commodity;
(B)
determine the price basis of any such transaction in interstate commerce in the commodity; or
(C)
deliver any such commodity sold, shipped, or received in interstate commerce for the execution of the transaction.
(2) TransactionA transaction referred to in paragraph (1) is a transaction that—
(A)
(i)
is, of the character of, or is commonly known to the trade as, a “wash sale” or “accommodation trade”; or
(ii)
is a fictitious sale; or
(B)
is used to cause any price to be reported, registered, or recorded that is not a true and bona fide price.
(3) Contract of saleIt shall be unlawful for any employee or agent of any department or agency of the Federal Government or any Member of Congress or employee of Congress (as such terms are defined under section 2 of the STOCK Act) or any judicial officer or judicial employee (as such terms are defined, respectively, under section 2 of the STOCK Act) who, by virtue of the employment or position of the Member, officer, employee or agent, acquires information that may affect or tend to affect the price of any commodity in interstate commerce, or for future delivery, or any swap, and which information has not been disseminated by the department or agency of the Federal Government holding or creating the information or by Congress or by the judiciary in a manner which makes it generally available to the trading public, or disclosed in a criminal, civil, or administrative hearing, or in a congressional, administrative, or Government Accountability Office report, hearing, audit, or investigation, to use the information in his personal capacity and for personal gain to enter into, or offer to enter into—
(A)
a contract of sale of a commodity for future delivery (or option on such a contract);
(B)
an option (other than an option executed or traded on a national securities exchange registered pursuant to section 78f(a) of title 15); or
(C)
a swap.
(4) Nonpublic information
(A) Imparting of nonpublic informationIt shall be unlawful for any employee or agent of any department or agency of the Federal Government or any Member of Congress or employee of Congress or any judicial officer or judicial employee who, by virtue of the employment or position of the Member, officer, employee or agent, acquires information that may affect or tend to affect the price of any commodity in interstate commerce, or for future delivery, or any swap, and which information has not been disseminated by the department or agency of the Federal Government holding or creating the information or by Congress or by the judiciary in a manner which makes it generally available to the trading public, or disclosed in a criminal, civil, or administrative hearing, or in a congressional, administrative, or Government Accountability Office report, hearing, audit, or investigation, to impart the information in his personal capacity and for personal gain with intent to assist another person, directly or indirectly, to use the information to enter into, or offer to enter into—
(i)
a contract of sale of a commodity for future delivery (or option on such a contract);
(ii)
an option (other than an option executed or traded on a national securities exchange registered pursuant to section 78f(a) of title 15); or
(iii)
a swap.
(B) Knowing useIt shall be unlawful for any person who receives information imparted by any employee or agent of any department or agency of the Federal Government or any Member of Congress or employee of Congress or any judicial officer or judicial employee as described in subparagraph (A) to knowingly use such information to enter into, or offer to enter into—
(i)
a contract of sale of a commodity for future delivery (or option on such a contract);
(ii)
an option (other than an option executed or traded on a national securities exchange registered pursuant to section 78f(a) of title 15); or
(iii)
a swap.
(C) Theft of nonpublic informationIt shall be unlawful for any person to steal, convert, or misappropriate, by any means whatsoever, information held or created by any department or agency of the Federal Government or by Congress or by the judiciary that may affect or tend to affect the price of any commodity in interstate commerce, or for future delivery, or any swap, where such person knows, or acts in reckless disregard of the fact, that such information has not been disseminated by the department or agency of the Federal Government holding or creating the information or by Congress or by the judiciary in a manner which makes it generally available to the trading public, or disclosed in a criminal, civil, or administrative hearing, or in a congressional, administrative, or Government Accountability Office report, hearing, audit, or investigation, and to use such information, or to impart such information with the intent to assist another person, directly or indirectly, to use such information to enter into, or offer to enter into—
(i)
a contract of sale of a commodity for future delivery (or option on such a contract);
(ii)
an option (other than an option executed or traded on a national securities exchange registered pursuant to section 78f(a) of title 15); or
(iii)
a swap, provided, however, that nothing in this subparagraph shall preclude a person that has provided information concerning, or generated by, the person, its operations or activities, to any employee or agent of any department or agency of the Federal Government, to Congress, any Member of Congress, any employee of Congress, any judicial officer, or any judicial employee, voluntarily or as required by law, from using such information to enter into, or offer to enter into, a contract of sale, option, or swap described in clauses [1] (i), (ii), or (iii).