SEC proposes new cybersecurity rules for financial firms        

The Securities and Exchange Commission is proposing a new rule and form and amendments to existing recordkeeping rules to require firms to address cybersecurity risks through policies and procedures, immediate notification to the Commission of the occurrence of a significant cybersecurity incident and, as applicable, reporting detailed information to the Commission about a significant cybersecurity incident, and public disclosures that would improve transparency with respect to cybersecurity risks and significant cybersecurity incidents. The deadline for comments on the new rule is 5^th June. 

ASIC cancels Binance licence   

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has cancelled Binance Australia’s derivatives licence. As a result of the cancellation: 

• with effect from 14th April 2023, clients will not be able to increase derivatives positions or open new positions with Binance; 
• Binance will require clients to close any existing derivative positions before 21st April 2023; 
• on 21st April 2023, Binance will close any remaining open positions. 

The terms of the cancellation include a provision that that the cancellation has no effect on the requirement for Binance to continue as a member of Australian Financial Complaints Authority until the end of 8th April 2024.   

ESMA Spotlights on Markets newsletter published 

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its latest Spotlight on Markets newsletter. 

The newsletter covers developments during March, including its fining of S&P, and looks forward to April including a number of forthcoming consultations on stress test scenarios and position calculations under the European market infrastructure regulation (EMIR). 

The FCA has started criminal proceedings against four individuals for conspiracy to commit fraud and for conspiracy to carry out regulated activity without authorisation, against two of those individuals for money laundering, and against one for possession of false identity documents and perverting the course of justice offences. 

The FCA alleges that over a two-year period between February 2017 and June 2019, Raymondip Bedi, Patrick Mavanga, Nicholas Harper, and Rowena Bedi defrauded investors out of approximately £1.4 million using investment schemes that were not genuine. Those investment schemes were with: 

• Astaria Group LLP   
• An unauthorised clone of Capital Partner(s) Group   
• CCX Capital   
• An unauthorised clone of Ian Buckley Financial Services. 

Under Section 19 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), a person cannot carry on a regulated activity in the UK unless they are FCA authorised or exempt (this is the General Prohibition). Any person who breaches Section 19 of FSMA is committing a criminal offence for which the maximum sentence is two years’ imprisonment.