Do not invest more money than you can afford to lose.
Forex brokers Vinson Financials has renounced its Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF) license issued from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the regulator said on Tuesday in a notice. As a result, the broker can no longer offer financial services, forex trading included, in Cyprus or any other EU country. Financial service providers are not allowed to lawfully operate in Cyprus unless they hold a license by the CySEC or the relevant authorities in any other EU member state. A CySEC license, on its part, provides access to the rest of the EU market.
The renouncement, which came into effect as of 23 May, 2016, was based on a CySEC law which states that a CIF authorisation will lapse if “a CIF expressly renounces the authorisation”. No details were available.
The broker, which operates via www.vinsonfinancials.com, will remain under the CySEC supervision until it settles all obligations related to the lapsed activities.
By renouncing its CySEC license, Vinson Financials closes its doors to the European markets, since a license from the regulator of Cyprus, an EU member, enables licensees to provide investment services in the rest of the countries of the European Economic Area (EEA).
Vinson Financials obtained a CIF license in late 2012. It does not fall under the regulation of any other authority. Its website contains no information regarding regulation, including such related to a CySEC license. In fact, the website states that the broker does not offer services to EU citizens, among others. 
Vinson Financials offers trading in forex, metals, and contracts for difference (CFDs). It is registered and regulated in Cyprus by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). This allows it to operate on all EU markets.
Although it has granted several CIF licenses since the beginning of 2016 – Avus Capital (aka Trading 212), G.S.E Golden Sky Europe Ltd., Spot Trading S.T. Ltd., Magic Compass Ltd., and Lydya Financial Ltd., the CySEC has been harsh on some forex and binaries brokers and has suspended the licenses of many. In some cases, suspension turned to withdrawal. For instance forex and binary options broker Pegase Capital, trading as Interactive Options, renounced its CIF license after nearly three months of license suspension, during which it was not allowed to provide services. Meanwhile, the regulator revoked the license of forex broker Falcon Brokers just a few months after it suspended it, and withdrew the license of binaries broker Trademarker, operating under the brands SkyFX and Capital Option.
The Cypriot financial regulator provides two types of CIF licenses – limited and full. A limited license allows an entity to execute orders on behalf of clients, but not on its own account, while full license allows an entity to act on both its own behalf and that of clients.
Source: CySEC
