The financial market continued its volatility in April. In forex, the US dollar continued its steady climb against other currencies while cryptocurrencies and stocks continued their volatility as concerns about a hawkish Fed continued. There were several regulatory stories during the month as well. As an agency specialising in financial marketing, our team has rounded up the top regulation changes in April, and now we’re looking at what’s coming up in May 2022
CySEC Warns Of Impersonators
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (“CySEC”) advised that a number of persons fraudulently presenting
themselves as CySEC Officers or representatives, are soliciting investors for fees in exchange for settlement of bogus compensation claims related to firms under CySEC supervision. CySEC reminded the public that it never sends unsolicited correspondence, nor does it ever request any personal data, financial or otherwise. CySEC has no authority or jurisdiction to collect fees for any purpose from individual investors, nor does it have authority to appoint anyone to do so on its behalf.
CySEC continues its crackdown
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission continued enforcing its non-compliance crackdown in April. Two of the most severe punishments were on Ayers Alliance and Broker Credit Service. Ayers went against CySEC’s mandatory staffing requirements for risk management department.
Broker Credit Service was fined 10,000 euros for failing to comply with market abuse law. According to reports it did not have effective systems for detecting suspicious transactions. Further, CySEC decided to withdraw the CIF authorization of Hoch Capital and Maxigrid. For more on CySEC rules and content marketing restrictions read our article here.
SD filing requirements for Juneteenth
On June 18, 2021, Juneteenth (June 19th) was designated as a U.S. Federal Holiday. As such, NFA has updated its schedule of 2022 holiday filing requirements for swap dealers (SD) to include Juneteenth. Juneteenth is a public holiday observed on 19 June to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the US. The holiday was first celebrated in Texas, where on that date in 1865, in the aftermath of the Civil War, slaves were declared free under the terms of the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation.
Interactive Brokers fined
Interactive Brokers is one of the biggest brokers in the world. In April, the company was reportedly forced to pay a $250,000 fine by the National Futures Association. The company was fined for allegedly cancelling its retail customers’ forex orders and failing to adequately supervise its workers in the conduct of their forex activities.
According to the rules, a forex dealer is prohibited from cancelling an executed order in a manner that would affect their outcome.
ASIC fines Westpac
Westpac, one of the biggest banks in Australia was ordered to pay $113 million in fines for failing to comply on various orders. The bank failed to comply in its banking, superannuation, and wealth management division. In a statement, ASIC’s Deputy Chair said:
“Westpac, like all licensees, has an obligation to be honest and fair in its provision of financial services. Despite this, Westpac failed to prioritise and fund the systems upgrades necessary to help fulfil this obligation.”
Meanwhile, in Australia, the Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) said that it will come up with cryptocurrency regulations by 2025. It will consult with all leading players in the industry, including crypto holders. ASIC also announced that it had suspended Dixon Advisory and Superannuation Services. It also announced a team to act as administrators.
Further, ASIC continued its crackdown of cryptocurrency influencers. Following to its statement in March, the regulator came up with detailed explanation about these rules.
FCA secures £2 million account forfeiture
In the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority secured £2 million that were held by QPay Europe Limited, a company that claims to be a fintech startup. The FCA alleged that the funds were proceeds of illegal activity in the United States. The firm received the funds from another company and moved them in different accounts in several countries. The FCA said:
“The funds will now be used to assist the FCA and other authorities fight illegal activity. The FCA will continue to vet applications for authorisation to ensure firms meet our standards of integrity as well as competence.”
If you enjoyed our Regulations Roundup April 2022, be sure to hit the share button. Love this type of content and want it for your FX broker or crypto exchange? We hear you. Contact the Contentworks team for financial services content.