The chief energy trader for collapsed hedge fund Amaranth Advisors LLC is fighting an effort by federal energy regulators to investigate his trading of natural gas contracts.
Brian Hunter, former head of energy trading for Amaranth Advisors LLC, which collapsed and lost some $6 billion (€4.34 billion) after making bad bets on natural gas trades, argued in a lawsuit filed Monday against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that the agency exceeded its power by trying to bring an enforcement action against him.
The lawsuit says FERC was planning to bring an “imminent” enforcement action against Hunter  as soon as Wednesday  for allegedly manipulating natural gas prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
A FERC spokeswoman could not be reached for comment. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Tuesday it would file a “major CFTC enforcement action” on Wednesday. A spokeswoman declined further comment.
The lawsuit said the CFTC’s investigation into Amaranth’s trading activities is ongoing, and argued that the CFTC, not FERC, has jurisdiction of futures markets.
