CySEC Hits Itrade Director with €50K Fine and Three-Year Ban

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has slapped Lee Ron More, the Executive Director, President, and Shareholder of Itrade Global (Cy) Ltd, with a €50,000 fine and banned him from management roles for three years due to “significant governance lapses.”

Itrade Global operates three retail FX brands, InvestFW, TradeFW and Tradedwell. However, the CySEC’s fine apparently reflects the violations made by a “tied agent,” which the company appointed to act on its behalf in Spain.

According to a decision made on July 29, 2024, and announced Wednesday, CySEC found that the board at Itrade Global fell short in maintaining adequate governance and oversight practices required by Cyprus’s Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law.

The watchdog highlighted that More and the leadership team failed to ensure proper management controls, did not regularly assess the effectiveness of their governance practices, and “neglected to address critical shortcomings.” Specifically, these breaches related to sections 10(1)(a) and 10(1)(d) of the law.

Four other former board members—Elif Kundakci, Yiannakis Christofi, Charis Charalambides, and Tatiana Kyriakidou—did not receive fines or sanctions due to the nature of their specific responsibilities within the company.

This sanction comes after a previous fine against the company itself for compliance failures. In April 2023, CySEC reached a settlement with Itrade Global and its associated brands, fining the firm €1 million to resolve charges that violated the Cypriot investment laws in 2020

The Cypriot regulator stated its decision was also influenced by the company’s lack of honesty when approaching clients, along with its non-compliance with authorization conditions related to the suitability of products offered to specific client segments.

In particular, CySEC noted the broker failed to establish sufficient policies to ensure marketing material met regulatory standards, including the lack of an internal operations manual or clear records of marketing assessments.

Additionally, CySEC issued a separate fine of €120,000 for Itrade Global’s violation of section 24(1) of the law, citing its failure to adequately manage conflicts of interest between itself and its tied agent versus its clients.

The regulatory body further clarified that the penalty was related to other compliance issues as well, including inadequate and unclear information provided on the company’s website, which prevented clients from understanding the risks associated with the investment services offered.