The bill from supervisory checks by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) over the past five years is a heavy one, with sanctions exceeding €12 million and 20 cases referred to the Attorney General for examination of possible criminal offences.
In its review of its work for the 2021-2026 period, published on Monday, CySEC noted that of the €12 million in administrative sanctions, more than €9 million was imposed on Cyprus Investment Firms (CIFs) and around €1 million on issuers for breaches of the legislation governing them. The remainder was imposed on other supervised entities. These amounts, it noted, are paid into the Consolidated Fund of the Republic of Cyprus.
Enforcement measures
Beyond the sanctions, corrective measures were requested in more than 800 cases. During the same five-year period, 8 CIF licences were revoked, while a further 47 CIFs voluntarily surrendered their licences. CySEC also rejected 10 applications for CIF licences, while 22 other applications were withdrawn by the applicants themselves.
In addition, 20 cases were sent to the Attorney General of the Republic to determine whether possible criminal offences arise on the part of companies or individuals. In 8 cases, information was forwarded to MOKAS, and in a further 4 cases, information was forwarded to the Police.
Growth in supervised entities
According to the most recent statistics, from June 2026, the number of entities supervised by CySEC stood at 815, an increase of 1.12% compared with the end of 2021. At the same time, 63 new applications for licensing of various types of supervised entities are under examination.
Supervisory work
CySEC significantly strengthened its supervisory activity over the past five years, investing in technological tools, increasing staff numbers and carrying out more than 4,000 inspections of supervised entities, during a period of heightened challenges for financial markets.
The relevant departments also examined a large volume of documents and other material submitted annually by supervised entities to the Commission. The Investigations Department also carried out hundreds of on-site visits and investigations at companies over the five-year period.
"Despite geopolitical developments, macroeconomic uncertainty, the effects of the pandemic and rapid technological change, the Cypriot capital market has shown remarkable resilience, maintaining its momentum and strengthening its position within the European financial landscape," said outgoing CySEC chairman George Theocharides.
