Pafos Live 3 June 2025
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission takes practical steps in collecting all available data and information from stakeholders before taking a decision on whether further investigation is required of the Mayor of Paphos' allegation in relation to links of forex companies in Cyprus with Latin American drug cartels.
This is stated in a written statement by a CySEC spokesperson, adding that "CySEC fully cooperates and exchanges information with domestic, European and international bodies, including ESMA, EBA, AMLA, MoneyVal, FATF and the National Competent Authorities of other countries".
"Our priority is to protect investors and maintain the credibility and transparency of the Cypriot capital market," he adds.
According to CySEC spokesperson, "the forex market is a decentralized network of banks, brokers and other financial institutions that facilitate foreign exchange transactions."
It states that "it is the largest and most liquid market in the world, where financial groups hold multiple licenses in different jurisdictions" and adds that "despite the fact that there is no single supervisory body for the entire foreign exchange market, CySEC as a national supervisory authority, has a responsibility to supervise domestic investment companies providing investment services in the foreign exchange market in Cyprus, to ensure that supervised entities strictly comply with, inter alia, the EU Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and the recent EU Anti-Money Laundering Directives and Regulations. Severe sanctions and enforcement measures are in place for non-compliance."
