Clients of CommexFX, one of the most controversial brokers that used to operate from Cyprus, are now able to tap the Cyprus Investor Compensation Fund (ICF). The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC ) issued a statement to inform the public that customers of the brokerage that haven’t been receiving their withdrawals can now apply for compensation from the ICF.
The news comes after two years of delays. The brokerage has been placing its advertising boards with live quotes across airports in Cyprus and has solicited a number of investors. Most recently the jailed owner of MerexMarkets, Abdulrahman Alimari, has been claiming that he wants to reinstate the company's license.
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It's been a long road for clients of CommexFX and MerexMarkets. Clients of the former have been retaining hope that they might get compensation from the insurance scheme in Cyprus, and ultimately their hopes could be fulfilled.
However MerexMarkets was a brokerage that was operating without a regulatory license and its clients are unlikely to recover their losses.
Two Years of Nerve-wracking Expectation
The license of CommexFX was suspended by CySEC in June 2015 after it was flooded by the first set of complaints about the conduct of the brokerage. The company is said to have been operating primarily in Egypt and China.
After CySEC suspended the license of the firm, it proceeded to revoke it altogether in July 2016.
The Cypriot regulator imposed a fine on the firm and its owner totalling €100,000 for misleading the regulator in July 2015. Now, two years later, CySEC is officially triggering the reimbursement process.
According to the official statement issued by the Cypriot regulator: “CySEC has ascertained that the company is unable to fulfill its duties towards its clients in the near future for reasons that do not consist of a temporary lack of Liquidity .”
CySEC will shortly publish an announcement on its website that will provide more information for clients of CommexFX on how to apply for compensation from the ICF. Recently, the regulator mandated a review of the rules of the scheme that is designed to protect investors in the country. Apparently the bureaucratic hurdles that are stopping clients from receiving timely compensation will be reviewed.
