Factbox: CFTC's biggest fines for trading infractions

(Reuters) - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has been stepping up its enforcement efforts, filing 25 percent more cases in 2009 than in the previous fiscal year and collecting $280 million in fines.

The bulk of its recent caseload has been sanctions against individuals running Ponzi schemes or illegal foreign exchange trading operations.

Here are some of the largest and most prominent fines levied by the CFTC for violations of U.S. commodity trading regulations:

2010

* Moore Capital Management: $25 million for attempting to manipulate settlement prices of platinum and palladium futures

* Morgan Stanley Capital Group: $14 million for concealing a large block crude oil trade at settlement

2009

* MF Global: $10 million fine for failing to supervise employee trading and maintain an adequate compliance program

* Amaranth Advisors: $7.5 million for attempting to manipulate NYMEX natural gas futures

2008

* Dairy Farmers of America and two former executives: $12 million for attempting to manipulate milk futures and exceeding speculative position limits

* Energy Transfer Partners: $10 million for attempting to manipulate natural gas prices at the Houston Ship Channel delivery hub

2007

* BP: $303 million to settle charges of manipulating propane markets; a record fine for the CFTC

* MF Global and employee Thomas Gilmartin: $77 million for mishandling hedge fund accounts

2005

* American Electric Power: $30 million for reporting false natural gas trading information

2004

* Enron Corp: $35 million for manipulating the natural gas market and operating an unregistered futures exchange for lumber futures

* Coral Energy Resources: $30 million for reporting false natural gas trading information

* Aquila Inc subsidiary: $26.5 million for reporting false natural gas trading information

* Xcel Energy: $16 million for reporting false natural gas trading information

* Mirant Corp: $12.5 million for reporting false natural gas trading information

* First West Trading and its owner, former New York Futures Exchange chairman Norman Eisler: $4.9 million for manipulating P-Tech options contracts traded on the NYFE

2003

* Duke Energy Trading and Marketing: $28 million for reporting false natural gas trading information

* El Paso Corp trading unit: $20 million for reporting false natural gas trading information

* Williams Companies: $20 million for reporting false natural gas trading information

* EnCana Corp: $20 million for reporting false natural gas trading information

* Reliant Energy Services: $18 million for reporting false natural gas trading information

* CMS Marketing: $16 million for reporting false natural gas trading information

1999

* Merrill Lynch: $15 million for helping Sumitomo Corp manipulate the global copper market

* Refco Inc: $7 million for order-taking and record-keeping violations involving treasury bond futures and options contracts, and for failing to supervise employees

1998

* Sumitomo Corp: $150 million after its chief copper trader tried to manipulate copper prices to cover trading losses in 1995-96

1989

* Nelson and William Hunt: $10 million for attempting to corner world silver markets in 1979-80, which caused silver prices to spike to almost $50 from $11 an ounce five months earlier

SOURCE: CFTC

(Reporting by Tom Doggett; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)