27 February, AtoZForex, London – $11 million Banc de Binary SEC settlement! Sensational sum of settlement in the most recent FX & Binary industry regulatory settlement between the SEC, CFTC and Banc De Binary over allegations of signing up US investors to binary options trading. Banc De Binary Ltd., a Cyprus registered financial trading company, has agreed to a settlement of $11 million with the US authorities over the accused allegations. The Cypriot company, which also has operations in the Seychelles and Israel, reached an agreement after being sued in 2013 by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Details of the agreement appeared in filings this week with a Nevada court.
SEC & CFTC Banc De Binary drama
According to the Wall Street Journal, Banc De Binary will pay $7.1 million in disgorgement and restitution, $2 million in civil penalties to the CFTC and $1.95 million in SEC civil penalties. In addition, company’s founder, Oren Laurent, will pay $150,000 as part of the settlement. From the money, a $9.05 million fund will be established to repay harmed US customers of the trading platform. Banc De Binary took an aggregate deposits of $11 million from 6,614 US retail customers, according to the CFTC. In the Nevada court filings, Banc De Binary said it neither admits nor denies the CFTC and SEC allegations. A Banc De Binary spokesman on Thursday said:
“We look forward to putting this behind us. We thank the US agencies for their professionalism during the course of this matter.”
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See also: CySEC fines Banc De Binary €350,000
The Cypriot company is estimated by industry experts to be one of the world’s largest binary options provider and operator. On its official website, the company says it has 250,000 account holders in over 80 countries. In Europe, Banc De Binary is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), which allows it to offer its products and services throughout the EU under “passporting” rules.
History repeats
Earlier this year, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission has taken more strict measures towards the companies it oversees as the industry has grown, and Banc De Binary was issued €350,000 ($386,000) settlement over possible violations around customer marketing and checks on client suitability. It was the fourth time in a year, including FMA warning and CySEC fines, that Banc De Binary had been censured.
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