The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has begun investigating several Forex Trading Companies regarding rampant accusations of illegal trading procedures. Rumors abound about brokers conducting various types of ponzi schemes and others who have been cheating clients of billions of dollars. To outsiders, it seems that CySEC may be lowballing the fines it imposes on these brokers and taking their sweet time to conclude their investigations, making it that much more worthwhile for them to continue their schemes until their illegalities are uncovered.
In addition, unlike NFA or FSA, CySEC doesn't really disclose the full details of the cases so we never get the complete picture of what exactly happened. This is the case with eToro which was found to have committed several improprieties as early as 2010 when the company was just starting out. Details of its difficulties were not released but seem to revolve around the organizational structure during its first phases of business. These flaws have since been rectified and eToro has been fined €50,000.
It will be interesting to discover if and when other brokerages will be fined in a similar way in the coming days or months. With the lack of transparency about the reasons for eToro's fine, it's unclear whether the regulatory body is trying to finance its operations by imposing fines, or whether the brokerage really deserved such a slap on the wrist. Such a small fine indicates the latter, but the truth is anyone's guess.