Do not invest more money than you can afford to lose.
On May 2, Russia’s financial megaregulator, the Bank of Russia, has finally enacted the first of the basic standards for forex dealers operating on the financial markets.
This means the forex brokers who have a license from the Bank of Russia and are members of the only approved self-regulatory organization – the Association of Forex Dealers (AFD) can openly operate and advertise their activities in earnest.
Currently in Russia there are eight regulated forex brokers: Alpari, Finam Forex, Forex Club, InstaForex, Teletrade, TrustForex, VTB 24 and Promsvyazbank. All of them, except Promsvyazbank are also members of the AFD.
“The official approval of the first basic standards for forex dealers is a very important stage for the Russian retail forex market. The Bank of Russia will be supervising the companies that are offering their services in Russia, therefore defending clients from the actions of unscrupulous companies”, said the CEO of Alpari Forex Guzel Mirzeeva, quoted in a company statement.
The remaining basic standards for the forex brokers are still under discussion and will be coordinated shortly, Alpari noted in its statement.
The forex brokers’ regulation process in Russia was a lengthy and not without its hiccups. When the law came into effect in the beginning of 2016, the only broker that had a license to operate on the vast Russian forex market was the local Finam Forex. In the following months the other seven brokers also obtained their licenses.
It is not entirely clear yet what the measures against unregulated brokers operating in Russia would be. There have been some plans to block the access to their sites, but this is still in a discussion stage. Meanwhile, the brokers operating on the Russian market without a license, run into the hundreds.
