Two French authorities, the Financial Markets Authority (AMF), a stock market regulator, and the Prudential Control and Resolution (ACPR), the supervisory body for the banking and insurance sector, warned citizens in France against dealing with unauthorized entities offering investments in foreign exchange and crypto asset derivatives on Wednesday.
This is coming two days after AMF issued a warning to retail investors in the country against fraudulent offers to buy certain listed shares at preferential prices.
Both authorities in a joint statement obtained by Finance Magnates said they regularly update their black list of websites identified as offering investments in the foreign exchange market and in derivative products including crypto assets, without being authorized to do so.
In the forex category, AMF and ACPR listed recently identified websites run by unauthorized entities to include: alphatradeplus.com, fmarketx.com, igcmarkets.com/fr, investarea.com/?lang=fr, kapital-trade.com/langs/french/index.php, zmarket.global/fr, www.tandemmarkets.com/fr, and www.infinity4x.com. In the crypto-asset derivatives category, however, only one website, centogx.com, was listed.
Additionally, the authorities noted that the list of all websites not authorized to offer the stated investments are available on Assurance Banque Épargne Info Service, AMF’s website and the AMF Protect Epargne application.
However, they warned that the list is not complete and is updated regularly because unauthorized entities appear regularly.
In addition, they explained: “To ensure that the intermediary offering you financial products or services is authorized to operate in France, you may consult the register of authorized investment service providers (https://www.regafi.fr) or the list of authorized intermediaries in the financial investment advisor (FIA) or crowdfunding
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is defined as funding of a project via raising smaller denominations of money across a large body of number of people.New businesses that need access to more capital may also conduct crowdfunding. Generally, crowdfunding is performed through an online community, social media, or crowdfunding websites such as Kickstarter, GoFundMe, and RocketHub. Depending upon which jurisdiction an investor resides within will dictate the sort of restrictions that are applied to the crowdfunding process. This determines how much can be invested or which new business may receive the contributions. These restrictions are established to help shield investors from the high risk of losing their investment.Like any other investment, there is a risk of new businesses failing and are similar to those used in hedge fund trading. Why Crowdfunding is Becoming More PopularOne form of crowdfunding that’s becoming more popular would be equity-based crowdfunding, where new businesses can raise capital without losing control to venture capital investors. Crowdfunding has gradually become much more popular and mainstream over the past decade. Private businesses receive much larger amounts of liquidity that is generated by having several or tens of thousands of investors. More shareholders generally correlate to a larger market which in turn creates more liquidity which is what investors seek out when considering equity-based crowdfunding.Both entrepreneurs and investors can significantly benefit from crowdfunding while regulations are continuing to place an increasing role in protecting investor capital.The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the entity responsible for regulating equity-based crowdfunding in the United States although crowdfunding did not pick up traction until 2011 after President Obama signed the JOBS Act.
Crowdfunding is defined as funding of a project via raising smaller denominations of money across a large body of number of people.New businesses that need access to more capital may also conduct crowdfunding. Generally, crowdfunding is performed through an online community, social media, or crowdfunding websites such as Kickstarter, GoFundMe, and RocketHub. Depending upon which jurisdiction an investor resides within will dictate the sort of restrictions that are applied to the crowdfunding process. This determines how much can be invested or which new business may receive the contributions. These restrictions are established to help shield investors from the high risk of losing their investment.Like any other investment, there is a risk of new businesses failing and are similar to those used in hedge fund trading. Why Crowdfunding is Becoming More PopularOne form of crowdfunding that’s becoming more popular would be equity-based crowdfunding, where new businesses can raise capital without losing control to venture capital investors. Crowdfunding has gradually become much more popular and mainstream over the past decade. Private businesses receive much larger amounts of liquidity that is generated by having several or tens of thousands of investors. More shareholders generally correlate to a larger market which in turn creates more liquidity which is what investors seek out when considering equity-based crowdfunding.Both entrepreneurs and investors can significantly benefit from crowdfunding while regulations are continuing to place an increasing role in protecting investor capital.The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the entity responsible for regulating equity-based crowdfunding in the United States although crowdfunding did not pick up traction until 2011 after President Obama signed the JOBS Act.
Read this Term (CIP) categories (https://www.orias.fr/search).
“If the intermediary in question does not appear on any of the last two lists, we strongly recommend that you should not make use of their services, as they are in breach of the applicable legislation and are not required to comply with basic rules of investor protection, information disclosure and claims handling.”
Europe’s Authorization Problem
In 2021, AMF added 25 websites to its lists of unauthorized entities offering investments to French citizens. The figure was a rise from 78 websites blacklisted in 2020. However, beyond France, Finance Magnates has reported similar authorization problems in Italy and Cyprus.
Last week, the Italian Companies and Exchange Commission (CONSOB) blocked six websites for illegally offering financial products, increasing the number of blocked websites to 663 since it launched its campaign against unregistered entities in July 2019.
In mid-February, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) blocked four firms for operating without being authorized by the agency to provide investment services.
Before then, in September 2021, the Cypriot watchdog had warned investors against five financial-related websites that are not authorized to operate under its jurisdiction. The websites were targeted at English and Italian-speaking investors.
Moreover, in August last year, CySEC raised a red flag against a fake website hosted in India that was impersonating its original site. The regulator had disclosed that the bogus site copied all the content illegally from its original CySEC
CySEC
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is a financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. CySEC is one of the key watchdog authorities for brokerages in Europe, whose financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.Founded in 2001, CySEC is instrumental in providing licensing and registration for forex brokers and previously binary options providers.CySEC is responsible for a variety of different functions, which includes the supervision and control of the Cyprus Stock Exchange as well as transactions executed in the Stock Exchange, its listed companies, brokers and brokerage firms.Furthermore, the regulator also supervises and monitors Licensed Investment Services Companies, Collective Investment funds, investment consultants. and mutual fund management companies.CySEC’s Role in Combatting Market AbuseOne of CySEC’s most important functions is the granting of operation licenses to investment firms, including investment consultants, brokerage firms and brokers. This includes provisions for Cyprus Investment Firms (CIF), who provide and perform investment services and activities either within Cyprus or abroad on a professional basis on certain financial instruments.Finally, CySEC oversees the imposition of administrative sanctions and disciplinary penalties to brokers, brokerage firms, and investment consultants, among others. The group has been a key force in policing the forex and binary options space, which has included several legal actions and curb market abuse. Since 2016, CySEC has sought to take a more aggressive stance against illicit behavior, while also strengthening its handling of investor complaints against entities. CySEC is currently chaired by Demetra Kalogerou, who has held the role since 2011.The CySEC is administered by a seven-member Board, which consist of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, each of whom provide their services on a full and exclusive employment basis, and five additional non-executive members.All individuals on CySEC’s Board are appointed by the Council of Ministers following a proposal of the Minister of Finance. Their service reflects a five-year term.
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is a financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. CySEC is one of the key watchdog authorities for brokerages in Europe, whose financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.Founded in 2001, CySEC is instrumental in providing licensing and registration for forex brokers and previously binary options providers.CySEC is responsible for a variety of different functions, which includes the supervision and control of the Cyprus Stock Exchange as well as transactions executed in the Stock Exchange, its listed companies, brokers and brokerage firms.Furthermore, the regulator also supervises and monitors Licensed Investment Services Companies, Collective Investment funds, investment consultants. and mutual fund management companies.CySEC’s Role in Combatting Market AbuseOne of CySEC’s most important functions is the granting of operation licenses to investment firms, including investment consultants, brokerage firms and brokers. This includes provisions for Cyprus Investment Firms (CIF), who provide and perform investment services and activities either within Cyprus or abroad on a professional basis on certain financial instruments.Finally, CySEC oversees the imposition of administrative sanctions and disciplinary penalties to brokers, brokerage firms, and investment consultants, among others. The group has been a key force in policing the forex and binary options space, which has included several legal actions and curb market abuse. Since 2016, CySEC has sought to take a more aggressive stance against illicit behavior, while also strengthening its handling of investor complaints against entities. CySEC is currently chaired by Demetra Kalogerou, who has held the role since 2011.The CySEC is administered by a seven-member Board, which consist of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, each of whom provide their services on a full and exclusive employment basis, and five additional non-executive members.All individuals on CySEC’s Board are appointed by the Council of Ministers following a proposal of the Minister of Finance. Their service reflects a five-year term.
Read this Term website, falsely giving the impression that it was the real watchdog.
Many more cases have been previously reported by Finance Magnates.
Two French authorities, the Financial Markets Authority (AMF), a stock market regulator, and the Prudential Control and Resolution (ACPR), the supervisory body for the banking and insurance sector, warned citizens in France against dealing with unauthorized entities offering investments in foreign exchange and crypto asset derivatives on Wednesday.
This is coming two days after AMF issued a warning to retail investors in the country against fraudulent offers to buy certain listed shares at preferential prices.
Both authorities in a joint statement obtained by Finance Magnates said they regularly update their black list of websites identified as offering investments in the foreign exchange market and in derivative products including crypto assets, without being authorized to do so.
In the forex category, AMF and ACPR listed recently identified websites run by unauthorized entities to include: alphatradeplus.com, fmarketx.com, igcmarkets.com/fr, investarea.com/?lang=fr, kapital-trade.com/langs/french/index.php, zmarket.global/fr, www.tandemmarkets.com/fr, and www.infinity4x.com. In the crypto-asset derivatives category, however, only one website, centogx.com, was listed.
Additionally, the authorities noted that the list of all websites not authorized to offer the stated investments are available on Assurance Banque Épargne Info Service, AMF’s website and the AMF Protect Epargne application.
However, they warned that the list is not complete and is updated regularly because unauthorized entities appear regularly.
In addition, they explained: “To ensure that the intermediary offering you financial products or services is authorized to operate in France, you may consult the register of authorized investment service providers (https://www.regafi.fr) or the list of authorized intermediaries in the financial investment advisor (FIA) or crowdfunding
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is defined as funding of a project via raising smaller denominations of money across a large body of number of people.New businesses that need access to more capital may also conduct crowdfunding. Generally, crowdfunding is performed through an online community, social media, or crowdfunding websites such as Kickstarter, GoFundMe, and RocketHub. Depending upon which jurisdiction an investor resides within will dictate the sort of restrictions that are applied to the crowdfunding process. This determines how much can be invested or which new business may receive the contributions. These restrictions are established to help shield investors from the high risk of losing their investment.Like any other investment, there is a risk of new businesses failing and are similar to those used in hedge fund trading. Why Crowdfunding is Becoming More PopularOne form of crowdfunding that’s becoming more popular would be equity-based crowdfunding, where new businesses can raise capital without losing control to venture capital investors. Crowdfunding has gradually become much more popular and mainstream over the past decade. Private businesses receive much larger amounts of liquidity that is generated by having several or tens of thousands of investors. More shareholders generally correlate to a larger market which in turn creates more liquidity which is what investors seek out when considering equity-based crowdfunding.Both entrepreneurs and investors can significantly benefit from crowdfunding while regulations are continuing to place an increasing role in protecting investor capital.The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the entity responsible for regulating equity-based crowdfunding in the United States although crowdfunding did not pick up traction until 2011 after President Obama signed the JOBS Act.
Crowdfunding is defined as funding of a project via raising smaller denominations of money across a large body of number of people.New businesses that need access to more capital may also conduct crowdfunding. Generally, crowdfunding is performed through an online community, social media, or crowdfunding websites such as Kickstarter, GoFundMe, and RocketHub. Depending upon which jurisdiction an investor resides within will dictate the sort of restrictions that are applied to the crowdfunding process. This determines how much can be invested or which new business may receive the contributions. These restrictions are established to help shield investors from the high risk of losing their investment.Like any other investment, there is a risk of new businesses failing and are similar to those used in hedge fund trading. Why Crowdfunding is Becoming More PopularOne form of crowdfunding that’s becoming more popular would be equity-based crowdfunding, where new businesses can raise capital without losing control to venture capital investors. Crowdfunding has gradually become much more popular and mainstream over the past decade. Private businesses receive much larger amounts of liquidity that is generated by having several or tens of thousands of investors. More shareholders generally correlate to a larger market which in turn creates more liquidity which is what investors seek out when considering equity-based crowdfunding.Both entrepreneurs and investors can significantly benefit from crowdfunding while regulations are continuing to place an increasing role in protecting investor capital.The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the entity responsible for regulating equity-based crowdfunding in the United States although crowdfunding did not pick up traction until 2011 after President Obama signed the JOBS Act.
Read this Term (CIP) categories (https://www.orias.fr/search).
“If the intermediary in question does not appear on any of the last two lists, we strongly recommend that you should not make use of their services, as they are in breach of the applicable legislation and are not required to comply with basic rules of investor protection, information disclosure and claims handling.”
Europe’s Authorization Problem
In 2021, AMF added 25 websites to its lists of unauthorized entities offering investments to French citizens. The figure was a rise from 78 websites blacklisted in 2020. However, beyond France, Finance Magnates has reported similar authorization problems in Italy and Cyprus.
Last week, the Italian Companies and Exchange Commission (CONSOB) blocked six websites for illegally offering financial products, increasing the number of blocked websites to 663 since it launched its campaign against unregistered entities in July 2019.
In mid-February, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) blocked four firms for operating without being authorized by the agency to provide investment services.
Before then, in September 2021, the Cypriot watchdog had warned investors against five financial-related websites that are not authorized to operate under its jurisdiction. The websites were targeted at English and Italian-speaking investors.
Moreover, in August last year, CySEC raised a red flag against a fake website hosted in India that was impersonating its original site. The regulator had disclosed that the bogus site copied all the content illegally from its original CySEC
CySEC
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is a financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. CySEC is one of the key watchdog authorities for brokerages in Europe, whose financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.Founded in 2001, CySEC is instrumental in providing licensing and registration for forex brokers and previously binary options providers.CySEC is responsible for a variety of different functions, which includes the supervision and control of the Cyprus Stock Exchange as well as transactions executed in the Stock Exchange, its listed companies, brokers and brokerage firms.Furthermore, the regulator also supervises and monitors Licensed Investment Services Companies, Collective Investment funds, investment consultants. and mutual fund management companies.CySEC’s Role in Combatting Market AbuseOne of CySEC’s most important functions is the granting of operation licenses to investment firms, including investment consultants, brokerage firms and brokers. This includes provisions for Cyprus Investment Firms (CIF), who provide and perform investment services and activities either within Cyprus or abroad on a professional basis on certain financial instruments.Finally, CySEC oversees the imposition of administrative sanctions and disciplinary penalties to brokers, brokerage firms, and investment consultants, among others. The group has been a key force in policing the forex and binary options space, which has included several legal actions and curb market abuse. Since 2016, CySEC has sought to take a more aggressive stance against illicit behavior, while also strengthening its handling of investor complaints against entities. CySEC is currently chaired by Demetra Kalogerou, who has held the role since 2011.The CySEC is administered by a seven-member Board, which consist of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, each of whom provide their services on a full and exclusive employment basis, and five additional non-executive members.All individuals on CySEC’s Board are appointed by the Council of Ministers following a proposal of the Minister of Finance. Their service reflects a five-year term.
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is a financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. CySEC is one of the key watchdog authorities for brokerages in Europe, whose financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.Founded in 2001, CySEC is instrumental in providing licensing and registration for forex brokers and previously binary options providers.CySEC is responsible for a variety of different functions, which includes the supervision and control of the Cyprus Stock Exchange as well as transactions executed in the Stock Exchange, its listed companies, brokers and brokerage firms.Furthermore, the regulator also supervises and monitors Licensed Investment Services Companies, Collective Investment funds, investment consultants. and mutual fund management companies.CySEC’s Role in Combatting Market AbuseOne of CySEC’s most important functions is the granting of operation licenses to investment firms, including investment consultants, brokerage firms and brokers. This includes provisions for Cyprus Investment Firms (CIF), who provide and perform investment services and activities either within Cyprus or abroad on a professional basis on certain financial instruments.Finally, CySEC oversees the imposition of administrative sanctions and disciplinary penalties to brokers, brokerage firms, and investment consultants, among others. The group has been a key force in policing the forex and binary options space, which has included several legal actions and curb market abuse. Since 2016, CySEC has sought to take a more aggressive stance against illicit behavior, while also strengthening its handling of investor complaints against entities. CySEC is currently chaired by Demetra Kalogerou, who has held the role since 2011.The CySEC is administered by a seven-member Board, which consist of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, each of whom provide their services on a full and exclusive employment basis, and five additional non-executive members.All individuals on CySEC’s Board are appointed by the Council of Ministers following a proposal of the Minister of Finance. Their service reflects a five-year term.
Read this Term website, falsely giving the impression that it was the real watchdog.
Many more cases have been previously reported by Finance Magnates.
Source: https://www.financemagnates.com/institutional-forex/french-authorities-blacklist-nine-websites-warn-against-fake-fx-crypto-dealers/