16/03/2023 09:19
Four companies licensed by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) had deposits at Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, the two US banks that failed, causing turmoil in the global economy.
During a press conference, President of CySEC George Theocharides was reassuring, saying that the deposits were of the companies' own resources and not their customers' money, noting that US authorities have said all depositors at the two banks will be protected.
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Vice-President, George Karatzias said that CySEC requested information from the supervised companies when the issue with the two banks arose.
"There are four companies with deposits, the vast majority of which had been withdrawn after rumors that there was a problem with the specific banks. When (the problem) arose, there was a small amount of deposits for each company from their own money, not from their customers' money," he said.
Frozen assets of €1.4 billion due to sanctions against Russia
Referring to the sanctions against Russia after the invasion in Ukraine, Theocharides said the Securities and Exchange Commission requested information from the supervised entities, about business relationships with persons subject to sanctions. He also said that based on information from the Anti-Money Laundering Department, CySEC conducts audits, which will continue in 2023.
"So far €720 million from Cyprus Investment Firms (CIFs) have been reserved and another €719 million have been reserved and held by administrative service providers (ASPs) under the supervision of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission," he said.
Theocharides also said that the Anti-Money Laundering Department has completed on-site audits for 14 supervised entities in 2022 and is currently in the process of completing the examination of other 15 audits "for which potential violations" of anti-money laundering legislation may arise.
At the same time, according to Theocharides, in 2022 the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission imposed administrative sanctions of approximately €2.9 million, of which the vast majority related to fines and arrangements for CIFs. In the last two years, administrative sanctions of more that €4.2 million have been imposed, of which over €3.6 million concerned CIFs.