Retail FX broker Sonaf says goodbye to its CySEC CIF license
As of October 11, Sonaf Business Ltd, which operates the retail FX brand Sonafx.com, is not regulated by Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) under which it has been governed until this date.
The Cypriot watchdog today made a public notice that Sonaf renounced its authorization, the Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF) License.
CySEC made it clear that the Sonaf’s surrender of license is entirely voluntary based on the company’s decision and does not arise as a result of any regulatory action.
Although the regulator didn’t clearly state why Sonaf has decided to say goodbye to its CIF authorization, it has recently seen many regulated brokers opt to voluntary surrender their license of their own accord, and not as a result of any regulatory issues.
The reasons leading up to this decision remain unclear, but CySEC will certainly maintain supervision over the financial service company until it has taken care of its responsibilities under the license.
A visit to the broker’s website reveals that Sonaf has already proceeded with changes in its website to remove any references regarding authorization and supervision of the company by CySEC. The company has also ceased the provision of its services through its domain https://www.sonafx.com/.
In addition, the company has shared the following statement on its website:
IMPORTANT NOTICE – RENOUNCEMENT OF AUTHORISATION We would like to inform you that the Company had decided, under its own initiative, to renounce its CIF license with authorization number 174/12 as of April 21st 2021. Therefore, starting April 21st 2021 and thereafter, the Company will not accept any new clients and existing clients will not be able to trade on their account or to enter any positions unrelated to the closing/termination of their open positions. Clients who have eligible funds in their account, are kindly requested to send a withdrawal request at [email protected] and will be refunded the full amount of their eligible funds (in accordance with the Company’s Terms and Conditions). For further information, contact us on [email protected] .
Once confirmed by a separate decision to be announced later, Sonaf will be no longer licensed and regulated by CySEC and thus cannot provide financial or ancillary services. The regulator will give the broker three months from that date to settle its obligations arising from the investment services that will be lapsed, during which time it remains under the Cypriot watchdog’s supervision.
Under the island country’s regulatory framework, the company must return all outstanding balances to its clients and handle all of their complaints. In addition, Sonaf must provide a confirmation from its external auditor that it does not have any pending obligations and must include details of each of the company’s clients.
