French regulator AMF addresses clients of Banc de Binary
AMF invites clients of the now defunct binary options platform to contact Banc de Binary and CySEC.
About two weeks have passed since the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (the ‘CySEC’) announced the renouncement of the Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF) license of binary options platform Banc de Binary. Today, the French financial markets regulator AMF also turned its gaze to this particular company, addressing clients of Banc de Binary in a special announcement.
The French watchdog urges clients of eu.bancdebinary.com to contact as soon as possible Banc de Binary Ltd, owner of the binary options website. The AMF provides the postal addresses of both the broker and the CySEC, and advises traders to send a mail to Banc de Binary and a copy of it to the Cypriot regulator. The mail should contain a request for account closure and money reimbursement, the French regulator notes.
The AMF has been actively working on fighting binary options fraud. It is regularly updating its “Blacklist” of unauthorized binary options websites, it also issues warnings and seeks to educate the public about the risks associated with this type of investment products. The French regulator has been instrumental in instigating changes in France’s laws, with the “Sapin 2” law which recently came into effect banning all sorts of advertising of risky financial products, including binary options. The move has affected sports sponsorships too, with French football clubs rushing to terminate deals with binary options brands. And yet, the efforts of regulators lack the strength to put a definitive end to binary options fraud.
The fight against binary options fraudsters is gathering speed at an international level. EUROPOL has gone after this kind of fraudulent scheme too. Given that EUROPOL is a law enforcement agency, which can prosecute the employees of binary options brokers too, chances are that the fight against illegal binary options providers will become more efficient.