Swiss Regulator FINMA Blacklists FX Brand FSM Smart

Photo: Bloomberg

FINMA, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, has updated its blacklist of companies that are suspected of conducting unauthorized activities in the financial markets.

The latest update to the FINMA’s warning list is a multi-asset broker called FSM Smart LIMITED. The Swiss authority located the newly-listed company address via its website www.fsmsmart.com, which reveals that the firm is owned and operated by an offshore entity.

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Although the financial watchdog didn’t provide specific details, the inclusion of FSM Smart means it is not officially registered in Switzerland and was thus not authorized to offer its trading services to Swiss traders. FSM Smart also claimed to have offices in Cyprus, but after some research on our side, it became clear that the firm isn’t regulated by the CySEC as a CIF firm.

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In the ‘About Us’ section, the company refers to global offices. ‎However, it didn’t claim any specific regulatory status in these jurisdictions.

Earlier this year, Finance Magnates reported that FINMA shut down a cryptocurrency racket as part of its latest efforts to tackle digital currency fraud. Per its latest edict, FINMA’s target was a fake cryptocurrency provider. The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority is currently pursuing as many as twelve other cases amidst an uptick of fraud in the country.

According to a FINMA statement regarding the action, this activity is similar to the deposit-taking business of a bank and is illegal unless the company in question holds the relevant financial market license.

Meanwhile, mainstream Swiss banks have largely distanced themselves from engaging with cryptocurrency companies, which have come under increasing scrutiny from regulators. While the digital asset has been widely accepted in Switzerland, traditional lenders have been reluctant to do business with crypto-linked services providers because of money laundering concerns and prospects of a regulatory crackdown.