In typical CySEC manner, i.e. not very clearly and usually with considerable delay, the Cypriot regulator issued an announcement on 11 April 2014 in order to inform the public that since 18 February 2014, the Cyprus Investment Firm «Magline Investments Ltd», which is the parent company of and provides investment services (in the form of binary options trading) through the domain www.trading247.com, has renounced its authorization, as provided for by section 24(1)(b) of the Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law of 2007.
The parent company of www.trading247.com had gained the license with number 192/13 in mid 2013. Its move to renounce its license since February has been interpreted by some as another string in the latest trend of binary options brokers choosing to go unregulated since they believe that being regulated is not as important for the type of clients they are trying to attract and also because, due to the recent toughening up of rules and regulations, including the EMIR reporting requirement, it is too much of a hassle and an expense to be meeting all the requirements set out by regulating authorities.
What complicates matters further in this case however is the fact that the site of www.trading247.com, which operates on the SpotOption platform is still up and running and still mentions that it is run by Magline Investments Ltd, although the CySEC announcement mentions that “In regard to the domain www.trading247.com, the Company expressed the intention to license its use to another CIF.”
It remains therefore to be seen whether this is a case of an acquisition or a binary options broker opting to return to the unregulated status. In any case, since this was a quite popular broker, all investors should bear in mind that according to CySEC “the Company remains under the supervision of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission until the Company settles its obligations arising from the investment services or/and activities that lapsed,” meaning that any complaints about the broker for transactions prior to 18 February 2014 should still be addressed to CySEC.
