After paying a fine of $11 million in February following allegations that it had illegally signed up investors in the United States, Banc De Binary has now reportedly announced that it will be winding down operations.
According to a report from the Reuters news service, Banc De Binary was one of the world’s biggest and best-known providers of online binary options trading, which allow investors to wager on short-term moves in financial assets, and has cited regulatory pressures for its most recent move.
“Banc De Binary will be gradually down-sizing its operations due to regulatory constraints,” read a statement from the Israeli-owned and Cyprus-registered company issued to Reuters. “For clients that have eligible funds in their account, we are encouraging them to withdraw the remaining balance.”
Last year was also bad for Banc De Binary as September saw English top-flight football club Southampton pull out of a sponsorship deal after only a few days due to bad press coverage while officials in Belize revoked the company’s license the next month.
As if this wasn’t bad enough, Shmuel Hauser, Chairman for the Israeli Security Authority, declared in November that he was working with authorities in the United States, United Kingdom, France and Belgium to investigate complaints that more than 100 local companies are selling the risky online options internationally.
In related news, the Cyprus Securities And Exchange Commission revealed on Wednesday that Banc De Binary had renounced its authorization but would remain under its supervision until Sunday.