Banc de Binary, one of the biggest global providers of online trading in binary options renounced its authorisation. Furthermore, the company was a sponsor of the football club Liverpool FC. The company provided its services via the domain eu.bancdebinary.com. The clients could create an online account and trade binary options online.
The Israeli-owned and Cyprus registered company is accused of urging ordinary people to make high-risk transactions without assuring if they are able to evaluate the potential risks. The headquarters of the company is in Germasoyia, Limassol. Initially, the company was operating in the Republic of Cyprus without authorisation.
It is remarkable that Banc de Binary has never warned the public that binary options trading is a high-risk investment as the trades are live and it is possible to lose an initial investment. Moreover, there is no disclaimer on the website of the company. According to the Cyprus and foreign press, the target-group of the company were vulnerable investors who could not assess the risk of binary options trading. Specifically, Banc de Binary is accused of allowing investors to make high-risk transactions, thereby losing their money.
Binary options trading involves betting on whether individual shares, indexes, currencies or other securities will go up or down in a specific period of time. However, the time for the option to ‘’mature’’ is more or less one minute. Many individuals have filed a complaint against Banc de Binary, claiming that after setting up an account on the website eu.bancdebinary.com an advisor from Banc de Binary called them and told them that s/he could help them to increase their profits. It is obvious that there is a clear conflict of interests.
In binary options trading if the investor wins the company will lose. Given that the advisor was an employee of Banc de Binary it is more probable that he/she was serving the interests of the company instead of the interests of the client. As a result, 8 out of 10 investors lost their lifetime savings, as well as, movable and immovable assets within five months. Moreover, only 3% of the investors increased their profits. A lot of people claimed that they lost thousands of euro within a few days. A striking example is the story of a 50-year-old man who claimed that he lost almost €15.000 within a couple of days.
Reuters highlights that the companies in the binary options industry are accused of transferring money between accounts without clients’ consent and in some cases of preventing investors from withdrawing funds. In this point, it should be underlined that Banc de Binary, as a Cyprus-registered company could provide its services to the UK without being regulated by the British Gambling Commission or the Financial Conduct Authority, due to a considerable gap in the EU regulations concerning this issues.
The issue is that the Banc de Binary has been authorised by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) as a Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF). According to Investopedia, ‘’An investment is an asset or item that is purchased with the hope that it will generate income or will appreciate in the future’’.[1] On the other hand, investment companies are defined as ‘’business entities, both privately and publicly owned, that manage, sell, and market funds to the public’’[2]. The investment companies have a share in profits and losses.
Under the Cyprus Law 144(I)/2007, a CIF is a firm that provides investment services on a professional basis to parties inside and outside Cyprus. However, Banc de Binary is a binary options trading company. Binary options are “win or lose” bets. Consequently, Banc de Binary should not have been authorised as an investment firm as the company provides purely betting services.
In the official announcement of CySEC, published on the 11th of January 2017, it is stated that ‘’Banc De Binary Ltd remains under the supervision of CySEC until it settles its obligations arising from the investment services and/or activities that will lapse’’. In other words, the company is obliged to settle its obligations towards the people to whom it provided its services. However, an individual defrauded by Banc de Binary cannot get his/her money or other assets back without filing a civil claim in Cyprus. On this point, it should be clarified that you will not get your money back without filing a civil claim. Therefore, professional legal support is required.
Contact us and file a civil claim in Cyprus:
Michael Chambers & Co. LLC is able to provide you with an adequate legal and administrative support in order to receive the compensation you deserve. Our team of Cyprus lawyers will thoroughly examine all the facts provided by you and gather evidence that will endorse your case. The legal team of Michael Chambers & Co. LLC will be with you at every step making sure that you are treated fairly and you have the necessary information. If you wish to speak to one of our lawyers, in absolute confidence, then please contact us: info@chambers.law
