The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has just announces its decision, made at a Board meeting in December last year, to impose administrative fines on SpotOption Exchange and BDSwiss Holding Ltd.
Both Cyprus Investment Firms (CIFs) were issued fines for not complying with the Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law of 2007. The fine for SpotOption Exchange, the CySEC regulated subsidiary of leading binary platform provider SpotOption, is €10,000, whereas the fine for BDSwiss is €5,000.
The fines are part of an extensive review that Cypriot financial regulator CySEC is making of all major licensed financial firms on the island. The €10,000 fine amounts to a fairly small slap on the wrist, given some of the other fines in the €300,000+ range handed out by CySEC when it found actual wrongdoing at CIF licensed brokers and companies.
A SpotOption Exchange spokesperson remarked to LeapRate:
The fine refers to a temporary malfunction of the pricing engine of a newly introduced product in May 2014. The company took all necessary actions to rectify the price engine malfunction and to prevent such events recurring in the future. The CySEC noted positively in its decision the control measures adopted by the company to prevent the recurrence of such events and the fact that the company had never previously been fined.
Regarding SpotOption Exchange, the Cypriot regulator says the administrative fine is broken down as follows:
- €5,000 for non-compliance with Section 28(1) of the Law as it failed to comply at all times, and specifically during the period of May 8, 2014 – June 18, 2014, with certain authorization and operating conditions: continuity and regularity in the performance of investment services, by employing appropriate and proportionate systems, resources and procedures.
- €5,000 for non-compliance with Section 36(1) of the Law as it failed, in June 2014, to act fairly, honestly and professionally, in accordance with the best interests of its clients.
Regarding BDSwiss, CySEC notes the administrative fine is broken down as follows:
- €2,500 for non-compliance with Section 28(1) of the Law as it failed to comply at all times, and specifically during the period of May 8, 2014 – June 18, 2014, with certain authorization and operating conditions, continuity and regularity in the performance of investment services, by employing appropriate and proportionate systems, resources and procedures.
- €2,500 for non-compliance with Section 36(1) of the Law as it failed, in June 2014, to act fairly, honestly and professionally, in accordance with the best interests of its clients.
You can view the announcement on the SpotOption Exchange fine by clicking here.
You can view the announcement on the BDSwiss Holding by clicking here.