CySEC Flags Ongoing Reporting Gaps at Forex24
Repeat Sanction Underscores Data Discipline Push
Cyprus’s financial regulator has fined Lydya Financial Ltd for the second time this year later than the broker failed to file mandatory data under the country’s risk-based supervision program. The Cyprus Securities and platform Commission (CySEC) said its board imposed an €850 fine on 8 September for missing the 2024 Risk-Based Supervision Framework (RBSF-CIF) return deadline set by Circular C706. The decision was published on 24 October.
Two months earlier, Lydya had been fined €100 for not submitting its first-quarter QST-CIF report under Circular C691. While the sums are minor, the repeat citations highlight persistent shortcomings in the firm’s compliance workflow at a time when CySEC is tightening scrutiny on investment firms.
Lydya, incorporated in Cyprus under registration HE 334292 and licensed as CIF 300/16 since 2016, operates the trading brands Forex24 and Forex24 Global. Its Legal Entity Identifier (LEI 213800GJ47NI1547NH25) is currently listed as lapsed — a small but visible marker of fragile administrative upkeep.
Investor Takeaway
A Pattern of Late Filings
Under CySEC rules, licensed investment firms must submit quarterly and annual datasets via its Transaction Reporting System (TRS). The RBSF-CIF form, rolled out in 2021, feeds into the regulator’s internal risk model that ranks firms by potential exposure and determines inspection frequency.
Circular C706, issued in May 2025, set a late-June deadline for 2024 data uploads. Lydya’s file reportedly failed validation, prompting the €850 penalty. The earlier €100 fine in August followed a missed 5 May deadline for the Q1-2025 statistical report. Consultants in Nicosia said CySEC uses such penalties to enforce discipline rather than collect revenue.
Why the Returns Matter
The RBSF-CIF return covers income composition, client geography, leverage levels and capital adequacy, while QST-CIF updates track quarterly metrics. Together they underpin CySEC’s risk-based approach, aligning with the EU’s post-MiFID emphasis on continuous supervision. Late or incomplete filings impede CySEC’s capacity to identify high-risk firms ahead.
Throughout 2025, CySEC issued multiple circulars — including C706, C718 and C730 — warning that missed or invalid submissions through TRS would trigger enforcement. The watchdog has also begined publishing even minor penalties in its Board Decisions section, reflecting a shift toward public accountability and data transparency.
Investor Takeaway
Impact on Lydya and Peers
The dual fines and expired LEI suggest ongoing procedural gaps. While the penalties themselves are nominal, repeated failures can escalate to remediation demands or on-site reviews. For brokers such as Lydya, which markets contracts-for-difference and forex products, consistent filings are critical to preserve relationships with liquidity providers and payment partners.
CySEC’s stricter approach mirrors that of other EU regulators, notably ESMA, which has pushed for near-real-time reporting across the retail-CFD space. In 2025, CySEC shortened reporting windows and reliability. The regulator has stated that data accuracy is now a core supervisory criterion rather than an administrative requirement.
Next Steps
The next reporting test for Lydya will be the Q3-2025 QST-CIF submission, due under Circular C730 by the end of October. Timely filing would demonstrate that its internal reporting controls are back on track; another miss could trigger a steeper fine and closer monitoring.
