News: 1 Million Euros in Fines – Blacklists are Growing Fast!

EZTrader and InteractiveOptions Recieve 1 Million Euros in Fines

1 Million Euros in Fines – Blacklists are growing. Regulators are stepping it up with fines and warnings. Regulators worldwide are going wild when it comes to issuing warnings towards Forex and Binary brokers. While the blacklists are growing rapidly around the world, CySEC has taken action by fining several companies. Japanese, Canadian, French and Swiss regulators across the globe are cracking down on unregulated binary options.

CySEC – Massive Fines Ahead

CySEC Fine Binary Options Brokers CySEC has upped the ante in terms of punishment. Black lists and warnings are not enough where they are concerned. Two brokers made the cut this time around, although the reasons and the amount of the fines have varied they total up to over 1 million Euros altogether. Furthermore, CySEC has demanded the companies, EZTrader and Interactive Options, to improve their policies and practices in addition to paying the fines. If changes are not applied within a set timeframe, the company can lose its license to operate.

Warnings, Warnings, Warnings!

In late 2015, Canadian OSC warned two Binary brokers that were not registered in Ontario. These firms, like others warned previously, are offshore brokers with no authorization to offer services in Canada. Whilst issuing warnings, reaching the public is somewhat problematic due to Canadian regulators operating on a province by province basis.

The French AMF added eleven brokers to its already long list of warned brokers. Some of these blacklisted firms that provide services in French are regulated anywhere in the world. A few are CySEC but not yet registered in France. AMF recommends French clients to only do business with firms authorized in France. Taking it one step further, AMF also warns against marketing campaigns soliciting French clients to invest with fraudulent brokers.

Both Japan and Swiss have issued warnings for brokers looking to attract clients from their countries. In Japan’s case, a broker has offered their website in Japanese which was alarming to the Japanese authorities. The Swiss FINMA’s attention was caught when a broker claimed to have offices in Switzerland. FINMA states that such cases will always be investigated and measures will be taken to take the company down if necessary.

Regulators are Stepping Up

Regulators are performing better worldwide despite the troubles and issues, however there are still hurdles to overcome. In the EU the trend is for individual countries to require registration once CySEC licensing is given. This is helping to secure the EU market and consolidate CySEC. Japan’s way of dealing with brokers is also a smart way of preventing future victims, although not something every country can do. As a Japanese investor you only need to know one thing; if the website is offered in Japanese then the broker needs to be authorized in Japan or else you should stay away from doing business with the broker. Regardless, it looks like the regulators are really stepping up.