Micheal Clements, NAFB News Service

A class-action lawsuit filed this week claims Archer Daniels Midland Company engaged in an illegal scheme to manipulate ethanol markets. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of ethanol producers and led by Green Plains Inc. The proposed class-action suit was filed in the U.S. District Court of Nebraska, and claims senior ADM officials knew of the alleged manipulation, according to Reuters. In a recent complaint to S&P Global Platts, the benchmark pricing provider for ethanol, the industry claimed ADM was aggressively selling ethanol on the cash market and timing the transaction 30 minutes ahead of the close of the trading day. The move flooded ethanol markets and choked off competitors, according to the filers of the lawsuit. The DiCello Levitt Gutzler law firm in Chicago is representing Green Plains. A Law firm spokesperson says, “We encourage everyone with knowledge and those that care about fair and equitable marketplaces to come forward.”