The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission has imposed a fine of 170 000 euros on the brokerage firm Goldenburg Group for failing multiple times to comply with regulatory standards.
According to the statement released by the Cyprus authorities the company was unable to maintain in a satisfactory manner records of all the services and transactions it has provided to clients over the years. This failure cost the company 50 000 euro in fines.
Furthermore, two separate €40 000 fines were imposed on the brokerage firm for differing reasons pertaining to the honest conduct of business. Although the reason for one of them was not sufficiently clear and relied on ambiguity in the regulatory rules – ” “act honestly, fairly and professionally in accordance with the best interests of its clients” – the other fine was due to purposefully misleading clients.
Another €30 000 were wrested from the brokerage firm for failing to guarantee that third party companies present in transactions complied with regulatory standards. Again, due to lack of clarity in the wording of the law we cannot be sure against which companies CySEC is reacting.
Two smaller fines of €5000 each make the total of 170 000 euros in penalties imposed by CySEC. One of them is for the failure of tied agents to comply with regulatory standards. As the law is clear – tied agents are individuals or companies that promote an investment firms services and can accept orders from clients to be undertaken by that investment firm. And last but not least – the other smaller fee was due to failure to inform CySEC about future plans to open a new office in a different jurisdiction.
