Do not invest more money than you can afford to lose.
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (‘CySEC’) issued an announcement-warning on Tuesday with regard to Airfinance Pro Ltd., which operates several binary options brands, the most popular being BuzzTrade. The company is no longer authorized to provide financial services, as its license was suspended by the commission and later renounced.
In fact, the broker’s license was suspended over suspicions of non-compliance with legal and operational requirements, including reporting and filing obligations. The suspension was later expanded twice.
A check of the www.buzztrade.com website revealed that there is an announcement that the broker’s license was suspended on June 17, 2016. Nonetheless, it seems that the binary options broker still operates and accepts new clients, as anyone can sign up.
Another website (www.investing-area.com) that appears to be owned by Airfinance Pro Ltd. is also operational, though it should not be active and should not be providing investment services since the company no longer holds a CIF license.
The announcement further details that CySEC has given BuzzTrade a three-month term (from the date of termination of its license) to settle all its obligations arising from the investment services provided, but the company has not yet informed the regulator whether it has settled them.
CySEC said it is further investigating the matter. Nonetheless, Cypriot financial watchdog urges investors to be particularly cautious before conducting business with any investment institution and check whether it is duly licensed.
License suspension and revocation are measures often applied by CySEC. Previous month CySEC suspended partially the CIF license of XTrade. In April this year, CySEC suspended the license of Leadtrade Ltd., a company operating the popular binary options brand TopOption. Its license was later renounced.