The Cypriot watchdog today made a public notice that F1Markets Ltd (trading as Investous, StrattonMarkets and Europrime) renounced its authorization, the Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF) License under which it has been governed until this date.
CySEC made it clear that the F1Markets’ surrender of license is entirely voluntary based on the company’s decision and does not arise as a result of any regulatory action. However, the regulator fined this broker in August €150,000 due to shortcomings in the company’s regulatory obligations.
The Cypriot watchdogs provided a breakdown and specific details for the regulatory action, saying its decision was taken based on possible violations of local regulations and for not acting honestly when approaching their potential clients. These brands were also flagged for non-compliance with authorization conditions stated in many articles, which mainly concern the appropriateness of their products offered to certain client segments.
In particular, F1Markets was probed by Cysec for lack of compliance with regulatory requirements that govern the assessment of suitability and appropriateness of clients, as well as its obligation to execute orders on the most favourable terms to their customers.
CySEC will certainly maintain supervision over the financial service company until it has taken care of its responsibilities under the license.
A visit to the broker’s website reveals that F1Markets has already proceeded with changes in its website to remove any references regarding authorization and supervision of the company by CySEC.
In addition, the company has shared the following statement on its website:
Dear Valued Client,
We regret to inform you that our Company has decided to renounce its authorization and therefore please be aware that as of 20th of June 2022, F1Markets Ltd, operating under the domains www.investous.com/eu and www.f1markets.com will no longer be able to offer its investments and ancillary services to clients.
Once confirmed by a separate decision to be announced later, F1Markets will be no longer licensed and regulated by CySEC and thus cannot provide financial or ancillary services. The regulator will give the broker three months from that date to settle its obligations arising from the investment services that will be lapsed, during which time it remains under the Cypriot watchdog’s supervision.
Under the island country’s regulatory framework, the company must return all outstanding balances to its clients and handle all of their complaints. In addition, F1Markets must provide a confirmation from its external auditor that it does not have any pending obligations and must include details of each of the company’s clients.
