Cyprus Financial Regulator CySEC Issues €50,000 Fine to IC Markets

On September 4, the Cyprus Securities and Investment Commission (CySEC) issued a public notice announcing an administrative fine of €50,000 against IC Markets (EU) Ltd.

The decision was made by CySEC Board meeting held on July 1.

According to CySEC, IC Markets had violated the Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law of 2017. The regulator found the broker failed to ensure the best interests of its clients due to failing to take adequate measures and consider factors such as price and size when executing orders.

CySEC stated that the broker failed to establish and implement effective measures to fulfill its obligations with respect to the execution of customer orders.

In addition, CySEC believed that IC Markets failed to notify the information about cost and charges to its clients, resulting in a lack of clarity for clients and potential clients about costs and the cumulative impact on investment returns of the cost.

However, IC Markets expressed its strong disagreement with this decision of the Cypriot regulator, saying that these fines are unjustified and do not reflect the true operational standards of the company.

It is worth mentioning that in July this year, IC Markets was fined €200,000 by CySEC for leverage violations. The regulator accused IC Markets of using its offshore entity to offer leverage of up to 1,000:1, far exceeding the 30:1 leverage limit for FX and CFD brokers in the EU.