AMF, the financial regulator of France, has expanded its list of companies involved in fraud, often associated with investments in cryptocurrency. The Agency added 21 websites, most of which lured French investors with offers to participate in token sales and trading of digital assets.
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L'autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), a regulator of French financial markets, has updated its blacklist of businesses providing services that confuse investors and involve them in fraudulent schemes.
Most of the 21 new names refer to the grey segment of the crypto industry and offer investment opportunities related to ICO, cryptocurrency, trading or mining. What is common between these objects is that none of them has the right to work in this sector. In its official statement, AMF notes that the list is updated regularly, but warns that new companies appear all the time.
A new step of the regulator was made after the French authorities included 15 online platforms suspected of such crimes in the black list in March. Later, in July, the AMF said that " investing in digital assets represents a risk for French citizens, as they may be offered by scammers." The regulator also included a warning about the risks of investing in cryptocurrencies in its annual financial industry risk assessment report. Despite the categorical nature of the threats, the Agency acknowledged that "the lack of reliable data prevents it from identifying and assessing the risks associated with this type of financial activity".
The task of French regulators is further complicated by the fact that cryptocurrencies and related products are not yet fully covered by the current legal definitions in the country's legislation. Under French law, they are not considered currencies and are not treated as financial instruments. In addition, it is not clear which particular government Agency is responsible and competent to perform the functions of control and supervision over the cryptocurrency.
However, AMF concluded earlier this year that cryptocurrency derivatives should be subject to the rules applicable to financial instruments under the French Monetary and financial code. The same law fully applies to the acts of approval of companies that sell these products, as well as to the rules of their activities.
Efforts to ensure ICO security for investors
The French authorities have defined digital tokens as" rights to future use of services offered by the Issuer", noting that"investors are actually betting on the success of relevant projects." However, tokens were not recognized as financial instruments. Despite these explanations, the excessive circulation of tokens on the ICO remains, as a rule, outside the French regulatory framework.
This month, legislators in Paris passed new legislation introducing guidelines within a legal framework designed to regulate token sales in the cryptosphere. The law gives the powers of the AMF to license entities planning to engage in ICO on certain conditions, such as the provision of specific guarantees to the participants. Token issuers will also be required to disclose any relevant information that would allow investors to make informed decisions about their projects.
The authorities of the French financial markets believe that the lack of special rules is an inherent risk for the ICO. The new rules, which are part of the plan of the President of Emmanuel Macron to improve the business climate in the country, as well as the decision to significantly reduce taxes on mining, have the potential to transform France in a new European jurisdiction friendly to cryptocurrency.
Link to the source of information (Russian) - https://altstake.io/news/francuzskiy-regulyator-rasshiryaet-chernyy-spisok-kripto-kompaniy