IC Markets Disputes EUR200K CySEC Penalty
IC Markets is contesting the €200,000 fine imposed by CySEC for alleged violations of leverage rules. The broker claims that regulators ignored evidence and relied on biased testimony when making decisions.
Subsidiary of forex broker IC Markets in the European Union will appeal the €200,000 fine imposed by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). The fine, announced today, isconcerning alleged breaches of European Union financial regulations relating to the marketing, distribution and sale of CFDs to retail clients.
Australia-based forex broker IC Markets, strongly criticized CySEC's decision, claiming that the regulator ignored "the facts that been audited” and instead relied on allegations from a disgruntled former employee. The company accused these former employees of making regulatory and law enforcement threats while claiming to have connections within CySEC.
According to this multi-asset broker, Cyprus regulations were implemented without concrete evidence regarding the company's short selling activities. They argued that regulators made many assumptions, which led them to call the process biased
"Reliance on the testimony of these individuals, while ignoring objective evidence, represents an unequal and discriminatory application of CySEC's regulatory powers, which threatens the principles of transparency, market integrity, and fair competition," said IC Markets.
The regulatory body confirmed that IC Markets continues to operate outside the legal framework by offering retail clients leverage ratios of up to 1:1000 through affiliated companies, outside the jurisdiction of the law. The regulatory body also highlighted that this broker had violated the same rules in 2021, indicating a pattern of non-compliance.
In other forex broker news, IC Markets recently it's partnered with TipRanks to increase the availability of its innovative tools.
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