The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) will hold a hearing on Oct. 10 to consider a proposed settlement with Cypress-based brokerage firm eToro (Europe) Ltd. in connection with alleged unregistered trading in contracts for difference (CFDs), the commission announced Friday.
The terms of the settlement will only revealed if the agreement is approved at the OSC hearing. The allegations have not been proven.
According to the OSC’s statement of allegations, eToro violated registration rules by opening accounts for investors in Ontario to trade CFDs based on cryptocurrencies and stocks.
“The majority of these accounts were opened by eToro in 2017, after staff had already raised concerns with eToro about access by Ontario residents to eToro’s online trading platform,” the OSC says.
The firm opened nearly 2,500 accounts for investors in Ontario, generating almost US$1.8 million in revenues from those accounts, the OSC says.
“eToro had no meaningful controls in place to prevent Ontario residents from opening accounts and accessing its trading platform,” says the OSC.