Agreement Strengthens International Supervisory Cooperation, Promotes Enhanced Consumer Protection

Basel/Sofia – Victoria Saporta, Chair of the Executive Committee of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), today announced that the Financial Supervision Commission of the Republic of Bulgaria (BFSC) has joined an international supervisory cooperation and information exchange agreement. Since the first jurisdiction was admitted in June 2009, membership in the IAIS Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMoU) has grown significantly to now include 61 signatories representing approximately 70 percent of worldwide premium volume.

“I am pleased that the Financial Supervision Commission of the Republic of Bulgaria has become a signatory to the IAIS MMoU,” stated Mrs. Karina Karaivanova, BFSC Chair. “As an IAIS member, the BFSC continuously contributes to the development of sound and robust international supervisory standards. This agreement strengthens our ability to work co-operatively with other supervisory bodies and to monitor large cross-border insurers. Such cooperation is critically important to foster effective supervision, to enhance financial stability and to protect Bulgarian consumers.”

The MMoU is a global framework for cooperation and information exchange among insurance supervisors. It sets minimum standards to which signatories must adhere. All applicants are subject to review and approval by an independent team of IAIS Members. Through membership in the MMoU, supervisors are able to exchange relevant information with and provide assistance to other signatories, thereby promoting the financial stability and sound supervision of cross-border insurance operations for the benefit and protection of consumers.

“We welcome the Financial Supervision Commission of the Republic of Bulgaria as the latest signatory to the MMoU,” said Ms. Saporta. “To achieve our ultimate goal of policyholder protection within the global insurance marketplace,” Ms. Saporta noted, “supervisors must be able to cooperate quickly and effectively. The MMoU is an essential regulatory tool—not only in crisis situations, but also on a day-to-day basis.
A copy of the MMoU and a complete list of signatories is available here.

More information

The Financial Supervision Commission of the Republic of Bulgaria (BFSC) is a specialized government body for regulation and control over different segments of the financial system – capital market, insurance market, health insurance market, pension insurance market. Its primary mission is to assist through legal, administrative and informational means for the maintenance of stability and transparency on the non-banking financial sector, and to ensure the protection of the consumers of financial services and products. For more information, please visit http://www.fsc.bg/en.

The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) is a global standard-setting body promoting effective and globally consistent supervision of the insurance industry to develop and maintain fair, safe and stable insurance markets for the benefit and protection of policyholders; and to contribute to global financial stability. Its membership includes insurance regulators and supervisors from more than 200 jurisdictions. For more information, please visit www.iaisweb.org.

Agreement Strengthens International Supervisory Cooperation, Promotes Enhanced Consumer Protection

Basel/Sofia – Victoria Saporta, Chair of the Executive Committee of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), today announced that the Financial Supervision Commission of the Republic of Bulgaria (BFSC) has joined an international supervisory cooperation and information exchange agreement. Since the first jurisdiction was admitted in June 2009, membership in the IAIS Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMoU) has grown significantly to now include 61 signatories representing approximately 70 percent of worldwide premium volume.

“I am pleased that the Financial Supervision Commission of the Republic of Bulgaria has become a signatory to the IAIS MMoU,” stated Mrs. Karina Karaivanova, BFSC Chair. “As an IAIS member, the BFSC continuously contributes to the development of sound and robust international supervisory standards. This agreement strengthens our ability to work co-operatively with other supervisory bodies and to monitor large cross-border insurers. Such cooperation is critically important to foster effective supervision, to enhance financial stability and to protect Bulgarian consumers.”

The MMoU is a global framework for cooperation and information exchange among insurance supervisors. It sets minimum standards to which signatories must adhere. All applicants are subject to review and approval by an independent team of IAIS Members. Through membership in the MMoU, supervisors are able to exchange relevant information with and provide assistance to other signatories, thereby promoting the financial stability and sound supervision of cross-border insurance operations for the benefit and protection of consumers.

“We welcome the Financial Supervision Commission of the Republic of Bulgaria as the latest signatory to the MMoU,” said Ms. Saporta. “To achieve our ultimate goal of policyholder protection within the global insurance marketplace,” Ms. Saporta noted, “supervisors must be able to cooperate quickly and effectively. The MMoU is an essential regulatory tool—not only in crisis situations, but also on a day-to-day basis.
A copy of the MMoU and a complete list of signatories is available here.

More information

The Financial Supervision Commission of the Republic of Bulgaria (BFSC) is a specialized government body for regulation and control over different segments of the financial system – capital market, insurance market, health insurance market, pension insurance market. Its primary mission is to assist through legal, administrative and informational means for the maintenance of stability and transparency on the non-banking financial sector, and to ensure the protection of the consumers of financial services and products. For more information, please visit http://www.fsc.bg/en.
The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) is a global standard-setting body promoting effective and globally consistent supervision of the insurance industry to develop and maintain fair, safe and stable insurance markets for the benefit and protection of policyholders; and to contribute to global financial stability. Its membership includes insurance regulators and supervisors from more than 200 jurisdictions. For more information, please visit www.iaisweb.org.

As a matter of priority and with a high level of importance, the Bulgarian Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) warns all the consumers and potential investors in Bulgaria and abroad about an illegal activity consisting of frauds in explicitly large financial amounts conducted through the website www.Brokerz.com. FSC has received numerous complaints from both Bulgarian and foreign citizens, this is why FSC warns the public about the possibility of financial frauds. Aiming at informing the public FSC communicates the measures taken locally and internationally with regards to the case of "Brokerz.com".
Since the beginning of 2020, FSC has received a significant number of complaints from Bulgarian and foreign citizens. The complaints contain allegations that consumers have lost money as a result of frauds conducted through the online platform for online trading in financial instruments www.brokerz.com, as well as related foreign companies: Group Polo Ltd. and Brokerz Ltd., registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the following companies registered in Bulgaria: Codexia EOOD (,,Кодексия“ ЕООД), UIC 205847631, RSD BULGARIA EOOD (,,ЕР ЕС ДИ БЪЛГАРИЯ” ЕООД), UIC 203873556, GLOBAL MARKETING CONSULT EOOD (,,ГЛОБЪЛ МАРКЕТИНГ КОНСУЛТ“ ЕООД) UIC 205637907,  NOVA COR EOOD (,,НОВА КОР“ ЕООД), UIC 205601761, NOVACOR EOOD (,,НОВАКОР“ ЕООД), UIC 205252555, and ALL MEDIA EOOD (,,ОЛМЕДИЯ“ ЕООД), UIC 203873556. The website that links to Brokerz.com is www.brokerz.com.

FSC warns all the consumers and the public that those companies do not have a licence issued by FSC to provide investment services and to carry out investment activities within the meaning of Article 6 of the Markets in Financial Instruments Act (MFIA). In connection with the above, those companies do not have the right to carry out such activity on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, as well as to receive funds from investors transferred to in their bank accounts in order for the purpose of investment in financial instruments.
Each of the complaints is analyzed in detail, the cash flows, the arguments and the facts indicating the illegal activity on the part of the mentioned companies are traced. FSC carried out a complex examination of the data presented in the complaints. FSC also provided full assistance to the victims with regards to their requests. In connection to that FSC promptly responded to all the received complaints, including warnings advices related to the necessary preventive measures regarding the illegal activities of Brokerz.com and the companies related to the Internet platform.
FSC draws the attention of the public and specifically of the potential investors to the following: the first function of FSC is to grant or refuse a licence for an investment intermediary to a company in accordance with the legal requirements, as well as to actively and strictly monitor the compliance of the companies with the regulatory requirements while they operate on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria. FSC is a state authority that carries out its activities in accordance with the powers provided by the law. In case of establishing administrative violations of the applicable regulatory requirements FSC may impose a sanction. However, in order to carry out this activity what has been done must be proved in an indisputable way. The criminal sanctioning belongs to other state authorities.
FSC’s purpose and tasks includes informing the competent authorities and communicating with the public and potential consumers in case of complaints related to proven abuses performed by a certain company. This is why FSC would like to once again remind the potential investors to always check on the FSC’s website whether the respective company to whose account they intend to  transfer money has the right to provide investment services and / or to perform investment activities, before transferring those funds. An indication that the potential investor is the subject of a fraud could be the fact that the name of the company specified in the contract as an investment intermediary, which in some cases may be identical to a licensed one, differs from the name of the company whose account should be transferred funds. FSC recommends to potential investors before transferring funds for trading in financial instruments to request information from the bank about the holder of the respective bank account, and then to inquire whether a person with such a name has a licence to provide investment services.
We would like to draw your attention to the fact that the provision of investment services and the performance of investment activities by occupation can be carried out only by a JSC or a limited liability company with registered office and address of management in the Republic of Bulgaria, which possesses a licence, issued by FSC under the terms and conditions of MFIA.
In this context, investment services may be provided on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria solely by;

 
Investment intermediaries who have been granted licence could be checked on the FSC’s website: http://www.fsc.bg/bg/, and/or on the websites of the EU competent authorities, as well as on the website of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA): https://www.esma.europa.eu/.
On the FSC’s website is published a list of the investment intermediaries who have notified it of their intention to provide financial services on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria: https://www.fsc.bg/bg/podnadzorni-litsa/notifikatsii/notifikatsii-polucheni-v-kfn/.
Trading through an intermediary which is not included in the lists in question means that the latter performs its activity unlawfully, i.e. without having met the respective regulatory and supervisory requirements, thus it leads to lack of guaranty for the safety of the invested means.
Such an information about the investment intermediaries and banks having acquired right to provide investment services on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria could be found on the FSC’s website: http://www.fsc.bg/bg/. 
As regards the current case concerning the complaints against www.brokerz.com, FSC informs predominantly and in due time the respective competent authorities of the Republic of Bulgaria disposing of executive and judicial power. Due to the high number of raised claims for frauds of value of hundred thousand Euro, FSC actively shares information in this matter with supervisory authorities of the other EU member states, also in relation to the circumstance that in some claims have been argued frauds committed in various other states, except in Bulgaria. Taking into account the significant number of claims and reports sent to FSC by natural persons who are EU citizens, the latter is going to issue cautionary notifications about the illegal activity of Brokerz.com which will be sent to all EU supervisory authorities.
FSC has to inform the State Agency for National Security of the investigations carried out, when suspicion of money laundering through some companies related to Brokerz.com is on hand.
As a result of the check of the website (https:brokerz.com) pointed out in the claims, it became clear that the website is property of Brokerz Ltd, thus it is managed by it too. The latter is registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suite 305, Grifith Corporate Centre, Beachmont, PO BOX 1510 Kingston, Saint Vincent and Grenadines.
FSC has sent a letter to the leading body of the Financial Services Authority Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVGFSA) containing information about the licensing regime of the following companies; “Brokerz” Ltd., “Novacore” EOOD, “Group Polo” Ltd., as well as the internet platform www.brokerz.com.
FSC remains open for further communication and it is ready to undertake swift supervisory actions, as well as to revise the licensing regime of the above companies and to recheck their potential relation to that platform.
We would like to ask everyone who intends to start investment activity using the site www.brokerz.com to have in mind that it has not been granted any licence by FSC. Furthermore, we would like to ask each of you having invested through that website to check out the status of his/her investment.