The Chairman of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), Dr George Theocharides, highlighted during a press conference, the supervisory work of CySEC for 2023.
Within 2023, a total of 82 entities received approval, with the number of supervised entities at the end of February 2024 standing at 830.
“Over the past four years, the number of supervised entities has recorded a 12% increase and is an indication that Cyprus continues to gather substantial advantages as an investment destination. Based on the latest available data for February, 78 applications are in the process of being assessed for licensing,” he added.
Regarding investor education, CySEC noted that it issued warnings to the investing public and a specialised social media campaign on natural and legal entities posing as CySEC officials or representatives, as well as on websites imitating that of CySEC or other supervisory authorities.
Dr Theocharides stated that within 2023, the Supervision and AML/CFT Departments carried out over 700 on-site and remote thematic inspections of supervised entities.
During 2023, the evaluation of promotional material in over 35 CIFs’ promotional announcements was also completed, and in cases where misleading material was identified, CIFs were advised to make changes to the promotional material towards investors.
The Market Surveillance and Investigations Department conducted entries-investigations in 6 CIFs, completed 42 investigations and another 48 investigations were ongoing at the end of 2023. At the same time, the Department sent one case to the Attorney General of the Republic to determine whether there were potential criminal offences by companies or individuals.
The CySEC Chairman stated that one of the most important changes that will come towards the end of 2024 is the implementation of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, known as MiCA, which concerns crypto-asset service providers. The MiCA includes, inter alia, provisions aimed at ensuring investor protection and market integrity.
“All supervisory authorities in the European territory, including the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, are already preparing for the adoption of these changes, informing both regulated entities and other interested parties in the sector in general. It is important that supervised entities prepare for their adoption in a timely manner by acquiring the appropriate systems or further staffing them with the appropriate human resources to enable them to meet the new requirements.” Dr Theocharides said.
He also urged investors to be particularly cautious when investing in crypto-assets as they involve a number of risks.
