Spanish regulator expanded the list of financial websites that have been operating illegally
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Spanish financial regulator, the Comision Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV), recently published a statement in which it warned the public of even more websites that have been illegally offering financial services to the country’s citizens.
Websites such as these can range from legitimate services licensed in other jurisdictions that lack the permits to operate in Spain, to fraudulent platforms that seek to trick users and disappear with their money.
Which companies were blacklisted?
Spanish financial watchdog announced that one of the blacklisted platforms is a clone company that pretends to be an affiliate of a well-known and regulated Spanish broker-dealer specializing in offering multiple financial services, including asset management.
The list of websites to avoid has now seen the addition of 28 new members, including:
- premiumtrade247.com
- PremiumTrade247 LTD
- OMERS FINANCE
- SURE FX NATION
- Byalpha.org
- Successfulmarketplatform.com
- Compic Solutions LTD
- CROWN ENERGY
- Akselinvest.pro
- AKSEL INVEST PRO
- Crownenergyinvestment.com
- Evallvellc.com
- EvallVellc
- UP-townfinance LTD
- Uptowns-finance.com
- xtreamforex-com/es
- ONE TRADE PRO
- Xtream Markets
- Ontradepro.com
- Nordequity.com
- IMPERIALTRADE
- Sinvara LLC
- Imperialtrade.net
- Bdm-investments.uk
- BDM INVESTMENTS
- Profinancetrade LTD
- Profinancetrade.com
- Omersfinance.ltd
The regulator did not provide specific details regarding the platform, but the fact that it included the domains in the list suggests that they are not officially registered in the country. As such, they lack the authorization to offer trading services to Spain’s citizens.
As a result, CNMV warned the investors to carefully check its registers before engaging with any broker, especially before depositing funds with any of them. It particularly warned against engaging with brokers that used aggressive marketing techniques, seeking to get users to deposit the money as soon as possible.
CNMV issued new rules for Spanish brokers
The regulator also issued new rules regarding the requirements for risk and cost disclosure, and leverage and advertising. The rules were made for companies that offer CFDs, forex, and other speculative assets to retail investors.
Specifically, the CNMV noted that brokers that offer excessive leverage that exceeds 10:1 needs to warn investors about such products, and openly disclose that they are not appropriate for retail investors. Their complexity and the amount of risk involved makes them too risky for amateur traders and investors.
Apart from that, operators are also obligated to make sure that their clients are aware of the estimated costs, in case they decide to close their positions immediately after entering into transactions. In addition, brokers must also warn clients that they could lose more money than what they originally invested, due to the nature of margin trading.
