CySEC: TeleTrade pays €120k to settle 4 charges, including best execution issues
Earlier this year, CySEC has revealed having 779 entities under its supervision. It remains to be seen how that number will change on account of Brexit. For now, the financial watchdog approved 88 UK firms to operate without a physical presence.
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission has reached a settlement with TeleTrade, an established retail FX trading brand with over 26 years within the industry.
TeleTrade has paid €120,000 to settle charges “for possible violations of the Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law of 2017”.
The on-site investigation dated 20.12.2018, for which the settlement was reached, involved assessing the Company’s compliance with:
1. Article 22(1) of the Law as to the authorization condition laid down in article 17(2)(b) of the Law, regarding the organizational requirements with which a CIF is required to comply.
2. Article 25(1) of the Law, regarding general principles and information to clients.
3. Article 26, paragraphs (2)(a) and (3), of the Law, regarding the assessment of suitability and appropriateness of the clients.
4. Article 28, paragraphs (1)(a), (3), (6), (7) and (8), of the Law, regarding the obligation to execute orders on terms most favorable to the client.
CySEC has recently settled charges with Alvexo for €100,000 and TopForex for €270,000, among many others.
The financial watchdog has imposed a total of €3.19m in administrative fines in 2020, with €2.02m being linked to CIFs.
It also suspended the operating license of 8 CIFs, revoked the operating license of 3 CIFs, and notified more than 93 regulated entities to take certain measures, within a specific timeframe after identifying weaknesses and/or omissions as part of its oversight checks.
The regulatory authority is committed to boosting its supervisory role in 2021. CySEC highlighted the reinforcement of investor protection as its highest priority.
CySEC has now 779 entities under its supervision, which is up by 4.42% compared to 2019, during which it supervised 746 entities.
In the context of Brexit, CySEC has approved 88 UK firms to operate without a physical presence in Cyprus until the end of the year, thus rendering them an EU passport during the transition period.
The remaining 88 UK firms will enjoy Temporary Permission to provide investment services to professional clients and eligible counterparties, based in Cyprus up until 31 December 2021.
In conjunction with the Temporary Permissions Regime (TPR), CySEC also launched the Brexit Information Hub, intended to facilitate the navigation of Brexit-related information and the compliance of interested parties with legal obligations following the transitional period of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
The hub contains Q&As per regulated sector, including questions in relation to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, as well as announcements issued by CySEC, and Circulars addressed to CySEC regulated firms. The above-mentioned TPR is also covered in the Q&As of the Brexit Information Hub.
