The regulator continues its crackdown on unlicensed binary options brokerages
Cypriot financial regulator CySEC has informed the public in a press release today that the company standing behind PlanetOption is not permitted to conduct business in the country and it has never been issued a license and is outside of its regulatory framework.
Based on the website, the company behind the brokerage is called Ferrofortia LTD and it is registered in Nicosia, Cyprus. However if one looks at the terms and conditions for Cypriot and Greek residents on the website, the user agrees to do business with Home Land LTD which is situated in the Seychelles.
It appears that the Cypriot regulator continues its crusade against unregulated entities following binary options broker TraderXP and NRGbinary. Following an announcement in May 2012 CySEC is requiring all binary options operators to be licensed as investment firms.
For those binary options brokers in Cyprus unwilling or unable to apply for and receive a CIF license, it looks like the party is over, as their days of operating unlicensed are numbered. CySEC had given some of the Cyprus based established binary options brokers a long grace period to get their CIF license, but it appears as if that grace period has come to an end.
The eight CySEC licensed binary options brokers, and the platforms they run, include:
| Binary Options Broker | Platform Provider | |
| Cedar Finance | Tradologic | |
| Banc de Binary | SpotOption | |
| OptionWeb | SpotOption | |
| OptionRally | SpotOption | |
| 24Option | TechFinancials | |
| ZoneOptions | TechFinancials | |
| OptionFair | TechFinancials | |
| Anyoption |
For more on the global Forex industry see the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report.