Breaking: Plus500 Settles with Belgium Regulator for €550K

Plus500 (LSE:PLUS), a UK-listed group providing trading services for foreign exchange (FX) and contracts-for-difference (CFDs) has reached a settlement with the Belgium Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) of $597,000 (€550,000), according to a London Stock Exchange filing.

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The reason for the agreed settlement is that, according to the FSMA, Plus500 offered CFDs on Belgian territory without the requisite prospectus. In addition, Plus500 did not submit to the FSMA for approval any advertisement or other document relating to the CFDs.

Plus500 did not convey an admission of guilt or non-compliance, claiming that it had correctly implemented all necessary procedures to ultimately comply with the requisite legislation in Belgium. That being said, Plus500 opted for a swift resolution. The prompt settlement illustrates that the group felt that $597,000 was an appropriate figure.

The FSMA is Belgium’s paramount regulatory watchdog authority. The group has routinely issued fines against a host of different venues operating domestically, ranging from unregulated firms to providers of binary options. The FSMA issued a blanket ban on retail online trading in Forex Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Read this Term, binary options and CFDs on August 18, 2016.

The ban only applies to over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives and not to trading on a regulated exchange or on a multilateral trading facility. It was meant to supplement a Belgian distribution ban that was already in force for certain products, such as financial products with Bitcoin or other Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrencies By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw Read this Term as their underlying.