CySEC has granted over EUR 300 million in penalties and revoked the 3 license

CySEC, the regulator of the financial market in Cyprus, which once became a veritable cradle of European Forex brokers, went to work sharply last year. Nothing unusual. Investors' trust, which was damaged by the IronFX scandal (and a few less known entities), effectively scared some traders away from the local market. The tardiness and the lack of radical steps made investors afraid of a repeat of this story, with the exception of option brokers, who were targeted by the regulator from the very beginning. The events that took place forced CySEC to change its indulgent approach to even absolute ruthlessness in relation to all entities subject to their regulations. So let's check what the effect was in 2015-2016.

Penalties imposed

• 5 cases of total license withdrawal,
• 12 license suspension cases,
• 11 cases of extension of the license suspension,
• 30 imposed financial penalties for the total amount of 3 180 000 EUR.
• The list of institutions that appeared on the list of warnings has been significantly extended.

The loudest things

One of the most important events was the suspension of the ACFX broker license. The action itself was to be temporary, until the regulatory requirements set by CySEC were met. It's just that until then the broker could not continue its activity in the form of executing the orders of its clients. The license suspension period was extended twice. This also eventually contributed to the company's disappearance from the market.

Another high-profile case, and a disappointment at the same time, was the penalty of the broker IronFX in the amount of EUR 335. Although the amount of the fine is close to the record that was granted by CySEC, looking at the scale of the broker's operation and the alleged claims of traders from around the world, it seemed ridiculously low, and at the same time allowed the broker to function all the time.

The well-known binary options broker - Banc de Binary, which not only had problems with the license, also received four financial penalties for a total amount of EUR 517, too. It also does not seem too much, considering that in 000 alone, the company's profit hovered around $ 2014 million. Nevertheless, the tarnished opinion forced the company to start withdrawing from the market, which was announced in early January 100.

We enclose the full list of fines imposed by CySEC in 2016.

Listed by GP Global Ltd

Is it possible to recognize that the Cypriot Forex brokers market has become We will never charge you.  safe? Not really, but definitely it is much better. Rigorous actions arouse fear among brokers, and this has certainly contributed to improving the degree of security and compliance with licensing requirements. Additionally, it used to be a formality to obtain a license from CySEC in some ways. Currently, the procedure is much more difficult and lengthy (obtaining a license takes up to a year), and entities that have received the appropriate permit must take into account frequent inspections at the beginning of their operations. Choosing a regulated broker and having a good reputation among traders should minimize the chance of encountering any problems.