Now, having received new level of authority, the regulator will be able to thoroughly ‘clean up’ the brokerage industry in Cyprus.

The Cyprus Financial Regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), has just announced that it has significantly expanded its legal authority. In accordance with the new regulations, CySEC will be able to control the country’s financial sector.

New powers allow the Commission to better fulfill its obligations as the authority responsible for financial oversight.

CURRENT LEGISLATION

At present, individuals and legal entities, that are subject of an investigation, may refuse to provide CySEC with information that constitutes correspondence or communication. However, new legislation eliminates this loophole.

From now on CySEC will have the ability to collect all the necessary information, including correspondence and communication details, and even more thoroughly conduct reviews and investigations.

NO MORE LOOPHOLES

As stated in the official announcement, the new legislation explicitly indicates that the obligation to provide information includes the ability to request from brokers any written information, as well as information stored on corporate and personal computers.

Brokers will be required, upon request, to disclose and provide information necessary for the regulator in his investigations.

In the event of a legal entity’s refusal to satisfy the verification requirement or in case of intentional distortion of the requested records, accounts and other documents, CySEC has the right to impose an administrative fine on those entities.

CySEC previously announced an intention to expand its staff and with its new powers, the regulator will be able to thoroughly investigate and ‘clean up’ the brokerage industry on the island.

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