Belarus, a country that is becoming an increasingly popular destination for foreign exchange (Forex ) brokers and traders alike, might be about to update its FX Regulation to bring it in line with European Union standards.
In particular, the head of the National Bank's department for non-banking operations, Dmitry Nabzdorov, told reporters on Wednesday that Belarus has drafted a revised version of the decree "On activities on the over-the-counter market", which will obligate FX companies to record phone conversations between employees and their clients.
According to a report from BelTA, an English language news outlet, Dmitry Nabzdorov said: "The draft decree has been prepared and sent to the government bodies. If they give the go-ahead, the document will be submitted for scrutiny to the head of state this year."
"A forex company will provide records of phone conversations and messages with the clients in the event of disputes. If a forex company fails to provide such information, we will consider everything a client says to be true," Nabzdorov continued.
This proposed revision is in line with EU regulations, as the same requirements are in place under MiFID II.
Belarus: an attractive FX destination
As Finance Magnates reported, Belarus is becoming an increasingly attractive FX destination. This is largely due to its close proximity to Russia and its forex-friendly regulations.
Trading providers such as Alpari, B2Broker, RoboForex, and more have chosen the country to set up shop. Recently, the jurisdiction was made even more tempting thanks to new tax laws.
In particular, the President of Belarus signed a document back in January that allows clients to trade FX without being taxed. Specifically, Alexander Lukashenko, the President of the country, signed the Decree No. 503 "On Taxation," which removes the ability to tax people trading forex indefinitely. The decree exempts individuals from paying income tax received from transactions with non-deliverable OTC financial instruments.
