The Board of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) wishes to inform the public that it has decided to impose a total administrative fine of €360,000 on Cyprus investment firm (CIF) MCA Intelifunds Ltd.
MCA Intelifunds Ltd operates under the name FXORO.
The fine stems from the firm’s violations of The Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law of 2017, as in force (‘the Law’). These were detected during an inspection at the company in September 2022.
The total fine includes:
- A fine of €80,000 for violation of section 22(1) of the Law, as the Company did not comply at all times with the authorization condition of Section 17(2) of the Law, as specified further in Articles 22(1) and 22(2)(a) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/565, as the Company did not establish adequate policies and procedures sufficient to ensure its compliance with its obligations under the Law.
- A fine of €150,000 for violation of section 25(1) of the Law, as the Company did not act honestly, fairly and professionally when providing investment services to clients, in accordance with the best interests of its clients.
- A fine of €25,000 for violation of section 25(2)(a)(iii) of the Law, as the Company, which offers financial instruments (CFDs) for sale to clients, did not take reasonable steps to ensure that the financial instruments are distributed to the identified target market.
- A fine of €25,000 for violation of section 25(2)(b) of the Law, as the Company, which provides financial instruments (CFDs) for sale to clients, did not assess the compatibility of the financial instruments it offered or recommended to, with the needs of the clients to whom it provided investment services, by also taking into account the identified target market of end clients, and did not ensure that those financial instruments are offered or recommended only when this is in the interest of the client.
- A fine of €60,000 for violation of section 26(3)(a) of the Law, as specified further in Article 56(1) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/565, as the Company did not require the clients or potential clients to provide all necessary information regarding that person’s knowledge and experience in the investment field, relevant to the specific type of product offered, so as to enable itself to assess whether the product envisaged is appropriate for the client.
- A fine of €20,000 for violation of section 26(3)(b) of the Law, as the Company did not properly warn the client or the potential client, on the basis of the information received under paragraph (a) of section 26(3), that the product or service was not appropriate for him/her.
