The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has withdrawn the Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF) license of Sharelink Securities & Financial Services Ltd. This is coming after the firm voluntarily renounced its license.

The company has been operating with the CIF license since 2003. It provided investment banking and local and international financial services. Also, the firm provided private equity, asset management, proprietary trading of securities, stockbroking services, as well as other ancillary services.

Last year, Sharelink’s investment banking platform separated and joined Prudens Group to set up a new corporate finance arm there.

Sharelink also collaborated with CySEC-regulated financial services firm Argus Stockbrokers to offer brokerage and online trading services. Sharelink now operates as a connected agent of Argus.

CySEC Tightens Regulation

CySEC has been relatively busy in the market for the past few years. The watchdog is now tightening its regulatory and supervisory approach for retail brokerages operating in Cyprus. It recently warned CFD brokers to improve their practices of facing sanctions or losing their licenses in extreme cases.

Also, the watchdog has been very active to maintain order and punish those that are non-compliant with the rules. It has also fined and settled with several brokerages for violations of compliance rules.

CySEC Launches Campaign To Educate Traders

This month, the regulator has settled with Forex TB, BCM Begin Capital Markets, and Triangleview Investments.

Additionally, it has withdrawn the license of Finteractive, a company that operates the FXVC trading brand, following the renouncement of the license by the firm.

CySEC has also shown its interest and the need to check the growing use of “finfluencers’ in the financial services market. These groups of people promote products and services in ways that are not in line with the rules in the market. CySEC has also launched a new campaign to educate retail traders.

The goal of the campaign is to enable traders and investors to identify fraudulent schemes set up to steal users’ funds. It will also educate traders on the need to invest or trade only with companies that are licensed to operate in the country.