Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) suspended the voting rights of FXOpen's sole shareholder, Aliaksandr Klimenka, over concerns about his influence on the company's management.

Voting Rights Suspended

CySEC highlighted that the matter is a governance issue that FXOpen EU Ltd must resolve within the next six months. In July, the regulator reportedly determined that Klimenka's influence as the sole indirect shareholder of FXOpen EU Ltd could potentially harm the company's ability to manage itself in a sound and prudent manner.

“CySEC decided the suspension of the exercise of the voting rights attached to the shares of the CIF, held by Mr. Aliaksandr Klimenka, through the company FXOpen Ltd (the sole direct shareholder of the CIF), which shall come into force after six months, in order to end that situation,” the regulator mentioned.

CySEC CySEC The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is a financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. CySEC is one of the key watchdog authorities for brokerages in Europe, whose financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.Founded in 2001, CySEC is instrumental in providing licensing and registration for forex brokers and previously binary options providers.CySEC is responsible for a variety of different functions, which includes the supervision The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is a financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. CySEC is one of the key watchdog authorities for brokerages in Europe, whose financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.Founded in 2001, CySEC is instrumental in providing licensing and registration for forex brokers and previously binary options providers.CySEC is responsible for a variety of different functions, which includes the supervision Read this Term's ruling will reportedly suspend Klimenka's voting rights, which are held indirectly through FXOpen Ltd. However, the suspension will take effect after a six-month grace period, giving FXOpen EU Ltd time to find a solution.

Restructuring Governance

CySEC's intention behind this timeframe is to provide FXOpen EU Ltd with adequate time to restructure its governance. Whether through changes in ownership or internal management adjustments, the regulator mentioned that the company must find a way to ensure that its management is free from undue shareholder influence.

“That the particular measure is considered, under the circumstances, appropriate to end Klimenka's influence on the management of the CIF, since the suspension of voting rights ensures his non-participation in decision-making at a general meeting of CIF's shareholders, which is the body for handling all of CIF's matters,” the regulator added.

Early this year, Klimenka was charged with money laundering conspiracy and operating an unlicensed money services business, allegedly behind the notorious digital currency exchange BTC-e.

According to information from the Office of Public Affairs at the US Department of Justice, the indictment spans from 2011 to 2017 and involved cybercrime, online money laundering Money Laundering Money laundering is a blanket term to describe the process by which criminals disguise the original ownership and proceeds of criminal conduct by making such proceeds appear to be derived from a legitimate source.Money laundering is an issue that traverses countless industries and sectors, which includes the financial services space. Though criminal money may be successfully laundered without the assistance of the financial sector, billions of dollars’ worth of criminally derived money are laund Money laundering is a blanket term to describe the process by which criminals disguise the original ownership and proceeds of criminal conduct by making such proceeds appear to be derived from a legitimate source.Money laundering is an issue that traverses countless industries and sectors, which includes the financial services space. Though criminal money may be successfully laundered without the assistance of the financial sector, billions of dollars’ worth of criminally derived money are laund Read this Term, and a range of illicit transactions.

The indictment suggested that the Belarusian Cypriot, among others, controlled BTC-e. The platform reportedly enabled users to trade Bitcoin anonymously. According to the report, BTC-e allegedly operated without proper registration as a money services business and lacked essential anti-money laundering processes despite conducting substantial business in the US.