Tag: CySEC

BDSwiss Faces €100,000 Fine Over Regulatory Violations with Offshore Entities

Posted on by Adam Smith
BDSwiss Review

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has fined BDSwiss Holding Ltd, a Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF), a hefty €100,000 for enabling offshore companies to mislead customers by referencing its CIF status. The hefty penalty comes after BDSwiss was found redirecting customers to offshore entities that were not regulated.

In 2021, FCA similarly banned the broker after a comprehensive investigation found UK clients were predominantly onboarded to groups regulated elsewhere.

The CySEC probe discovered that BDSwiss had allowed its offshore associates to capitalize on the CIF status to attract clients, offering them investment services in Contract for Differences (CFDs) without the necessary initial margin protection and requisite risk warnings. By doing so, the broker effectively circumvented the statutory requirements of a regulated CIF provider.

  • The fine of €100,000 imposed on BDSwiss is for breaching Article 42 of Regulation (EU) 600/2014, as specified in Paragraph 5 of DI87-09, during the year 2021. The violation involves activities leading to the avoidance of the requirements of paragraph 4(1)(a) (initial margin) and (e) (risk warning) of DI87-09 by enabling offshore entities associated with BDSwiss to refer to the CIF status, without the necessary customer protections in place.

A similar course of events led to broker's ban in the UK in 2021. BDSwiss Holding and its associated brands were prohibited from operating in the UK after the FCA discovered investors were being offered high-risk CFDs using social media endorsements. The FCA concluded that BDSwiss Group had misrepresented the fact that one of its entities was regulated in the UK to lend an air of legitimacy to the group as a whole.

This misrepresentation misled investors to believe that all of the firm's activities were regulated by the FCA, whereas the reality was quite different. The overseas firms associated with BDSwiss did not adhere to the FCA's restrictions concerning the marketing and sale of CFDs to retail consumers.

The broker operates several brands regulated by various international entities, including Seychelles’ Financial Services Commission, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), and the Financial Services Commission (FSC – Mauritius).

MultiBank Group obtains CySEC CIF license for MEX Europe Ltd

Posted on by Adam Smith
MultiBank

Multinational Retail FX and CFDs broker, MultiBank Group, continues its global expansion with its recent receipt of a Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) CIF license for its subsidiary, MEX Europe Ltd. The license, granted on May 22, 2023, marks another significant step in the broker's international growth strategy.

MEX Europe Ltd is set to manage the mexeurope.com website, focusing primarily on clientele within the European Union. To bolster this operation, the company is establishing an office in Limassol, Cyprus.

Chairman of MultiBank Group, Naser Taher, expressed immense pride in the acquisition of the CySEC license, acknowledging it as a reflection of the company's commitment to developing a world-class, regulated financial products and services ecosystem.

"MultiBank Group has been operating in the financial industry with an unblemished track record for over 20 years, and as such, it has built a reputation for providing the highest level of funds security, first-class financial services, award-winning technology, and products," Taher stated.

  • The unveiling of MEX Europe comes as MultiBank Group prepares to go public in 2023. The company has several innovative projects in the pipeline, including an inter-bank ECN trading platform for financial institutions and banks, a digital assets exchange regulated in Australia, a globally oriented digital payments processor, and an enhanced social trading application. The firm's aim is to create the world's first cross-asset ecosystem, bridging the gap between traditional and emerging forms of finance.
  • MultiBank Group last October secured licenses from the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) of the UAE and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). These recent acquisitions join an array of regulatory licenses from institutions such as ASIC, AUSTRAC, BaFin, FMA, FSC, CIMA, TFG, and VFSC. With 12 regulators, MultiBank Group assures a fully regulated and secure trading environment for its vast global clientele.

Last year, as part of its global expansion initiative, MultiBank Group moved its headquarters from Hong Kong to Dubai. The Group, comprising several entities, is heavily regulated across five continents by over 11 financial regulators, including those in Australia, Germany, Austria, Cyprus, Cayman Islands, UAE, BVI, Singapore, and Vanuatu.

With over 25 branches worldwide, an impeccable regulatory record, and a loyal customer base exceeding 1,000,000 users, MultiBank Group is poised to maintain its leading position in the global financial industry.