Exclusive: Pepperstone Responds to Brazil’s CVM Stop Order

by Celeste Skinner
  • The broker said that it is not licensed in Brazil and does not purport to be.
Exclusive: Pepperstone Responds to Brazil’s CVM Stop Order
FM
Join our Telegram channel

Following the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) of Brazil issuing a Stop Order against the Pepperstone Group on Wednesday, for allegedly operating in the country without the proper authorisation, the Australian-headquartered broker has responded to Finance Magnates.

In particular, the CVM said that Pepperstone Group, alongside Paladin FX, has been attracting consumers in Brazil to trade in the foreign exchange (Forex ) market via its website https://pepperstone.com/por and also through social media.

However, according to the regulator, Pepperstone is not authorised within the country to do so and therefore, the agency ordered the immediate suspension of the broker’s activities under a penalty of a daily fine of one thousand reais.

Pepperstone: we don't purport to be licensed in Brazil

Speaking to Finance Magnates, a spokesperson of the Pepperstone Group said: “Pepperstone is not licensed in Brazil and does not purport to be. While we provide language support for Portuguese speakers, wherever they are located, we do not conduct business activities in Brazil nor do we actively market our products to or specifically target Brazilian residents.

“Compliance with legal and regulatory requirements is of paramount importance to us and we only onboard clients outside of our regulated jurisdictions who have initiated the business relationship with us of their own volition, by way of reverse solicitation.

“ While we are comfortable that our practices to date regarding Brazilian clients have not in fact breached local rules and regulations, we will be making contact directly with CVM in Brazil to better understand their concerns on what may have triggered this.”

In Brazil, both FX and derivatives can only be traded by companies that have been authorised by the regulator, under Law 6,385/76. Whilst the law doesn’t specifically say FX is a security, it does say that the issuance and distribution of “other derivative contracts, regardless of the underlying assets” must be supervised by the CVM.

Following the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) of Brazil issuing a Stop Order against the Pepperstone Group on Wednesday, for allegedly operating in the country without the proper authorisation, the Australian-headquartered broker has responded to Finance Magnates.

In particular, the CVM said that Pepperstone Group, alongside Paladin FX, has been attracting consumers in Brazil to trade in the foreign exchange (Forex ) market via its website https://pepperstone.com/por and also through social media.

However, according to the regulator, Pepperstone is not authorised within the country to do so and therefore, the agency ordered the immediate suspension of the broker’s activities under a penalty of a daily fine of one thousand reais.

Pepperstone: we don't purport to be licensed in Brazil

Speaking to Finance Magnates, a spokesperson of the Pepperstone Group said: “Pepperstone is not licensed in Brazil and does not purport to be. While we provide language support for Portuguese speakers, wherever they are located, we do not conduct business activities in Brazil nor do we actively market our products to or specifically target Brazilian residents.

“Compliance with legal and regulatory requirements is of paramount importance to us and we only onboard clients outside of our regulated jurisdictions who have initiated the business relationship with us of their own volition, by way of reverse solicitation.

“ While we are comfortable that our practices to date regarding Brazilian clients have not in fact breached local rules and regulations, we will be making contact directly with CVM in Brazil to better understand their concerns on what may have triggered this.”

In Brazil, both FX and derivatives can only be traded by companies that have been authorised by the regulator, under Law 6,385/76. Whilst the law doesn’t specifically say FX is a security, it does say that the issuance and distribution of “other derivative contracts, regardless of the underlying assets” must be supervised by the CVM.

!"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|} !"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}