FXBFI Broker Pays €150K to CySEC to Settle Possible Violations

FXBFI Broker Financial Investment Limited, an investment firm registered in Cyprus, has paid €150,000 to the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) to settle possible violations of the country’s financial regulations.

CySEC announced the settlement on Tuesday, noting that the decision to settle was reached by its Board on March 14, 2022.

The regulator noted that the settlement was related to its findings on FXBFI Broker's compliance records between February and August 2020.

These findings checked for the broker's compliance with sections of the Cyprus Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law of 2017, CySEC said.

The sections checked for include Article 5 (1) which outlines the requirement for granting the Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF) license.

Additionally, the Cypriot watchdog’s investigation covered Article 24 (1) of the law regarding conflicts of interest and Article 25, Sections (1) and (3) which is about the general principles and information addressed to clients.

Moreover, CySEC’s investigation looked into FXBFI Broker with regards to its compliance with the rule on reporting to clients and that on remuneration.

“A settlement has been reached with the CIF FXBFI Broker Financial Invest Ltd for possible violations of the Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law of 2017 and the Directive of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission for the Prudential Supervision of Investment Services Firms,” CySEC announced.

CySEC's Recent Settlements & License Withdrawals

Last week, CySEC announced that two regulated retail brokers F1 Markets and Magnum FX (Cyprus) settled for 'any violation or possible violation' of the country’s local financial regulations by paying €150,000 each.

In late July, the market supervisor reached a settlement of €50,000 with broker Triangleview Investment Limited. This was also for possible violation of the regulator's compliance rules.

Meanwhile, late last month, CySEC withdrew at least three licenses.

It withdrew the CIF license of MPS Marketplace, a multi-asset deep liquidity trading technology provider, after the firm voluntarily renounced the license.

Earlier in September 2019, CySEC suspended MPS Marketplace, which was previously known as SpotOption Exchange Limited, following its concerns on the broker's treatment of client funds.

Also, CySEC recently withdrew the CIF license of Sharelink Securities & Financial Services after the asset manager decided to renounce the license.

Last year, the investment banking unit of Sharelink became a part of Prudens Group, a corporate, fiduciary and accounting services provider.

Meanwhile, the last CIF license that was withdrawn by CySEC was that of Interactive Limited (FXVC) which earlier renounced the license and halted all of its services back in February.

In May, FXVC paid €100,000 to CySEC to settle what the regulator had called possible regulatory violations. Furthermore, the Cypriot watchdog fingered possible lapses in the broker’s 'organizational requirements'.