ASIC says Beijing-owned agriculture giant manipulated wheat contracts

COFCO, the Beijing-owned agribusiness giant, manipulated Australian commodities contracts more than 30 times in the months before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the corporate regulator alleges.

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission has launched legal action against two COFCO subsidiaries, alleging they manipulated a January 2023 wheat futures contract in Australia. It claims COFCO manipulated contracts 34 times by placing orders shortly before the close of the ASX24 derivates exchange for the day to improperly affect the settlement price.