CySEC and BCM Begin reached a €100k settlement

A well-known CFD and forex broker, BCM Begin Capital Markets, recently paid €100,000 as part of the settlement that it reached with Cyprus’ Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). The company was charged with the violation of the country’s Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law of 2007.

The regulator announced the payment by the CIF (Cyprus Investment Firm) yesterday, December 16th. It said that the Board decided on the settlement around two and a half weeks ago, on November 28th. CySEC further explained the situation, noting that the possible violation of the 2007 law took place between January and September of last year.

The violation was related to the company’s compliance with the standing requirements for CIF authorization. Other than that, it also violated some of the general principles and provision of information to its clients. The regulator stressed that all amounts payable that relates to the settlement agreement would be considered income of the country’s Treasury. As such, they are not the income of CySEC itself.

The company, formerly known as OX Capital Markets Limited, is the operator of a number of brands, two of which include ProfitLevel and CapitalPanda. The brands offer trading services for equities instruments, forex, and more.

CySEC has reached settlements with a number of other firms

This new settlement with BCM Begin represents only the latest such settlement that CySEC has reached with CIFs in the country that involved possible violations of Cyprus’ regulated markets law. As it turns out, there were numerous similar cases that preceded this one, including the operator of the CFD and forex brokerage bank ROInvesting — Royal Forex. According to reports, Royal Forex reached a settlement with the regulator in mid-November, when it agreed to pay €120,000 to CySEC. This company allegedly made possible violations of local regulations between July 2020 and October 2021.

The payment came after Royal Forex had already paid €270,000 to CySEC one month earlier, in October 2022. That time, the company made a payment for possibly committing the same offenses, plus some possible lapses when it came to mandatory organizational requirements and conflict of interest.

Before that, the regulator also went after General Capital Brokers (GCB), which is the acting operator of T1 Markets — another CFD and FX provider. GCB had to pay a €120,000 fine to settle possible violations. Regarding this firm, CySEC said that it investigated the company’s compliance with its requirements on CIF authorization, as well as things like obedience to the laws on general principles and provision of information to clients, but also for inconsistency in meeting the listed conditions for receiving an operating license.

The list of companies that CySEC reached settlements with is quite long, and it includes Forex TB, FXBFI Broker, F1 Markets and Magnum FX, ICC Intercertus Capital, Triangleview Investments, and many others.