The Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) pursues a consistent policy to protect the interests of consumers of financial services and prevent the performance of investment activities and services by unlicensed entities.

 Mr. Boyko Atanasov, Chairman of the FSC, indicated to the public that a significant number of complaints have been received from Bulgarian citizens who claim to have lost money as a result of fraud by companies named Grand Spot Market EOOD, Post Grand Research EOOD (formerly Grand Research EOOD), Grand Eastern Market EOOD, Market Progress EOOD, Mini-Market 1920 EOOD, Super-Market 2020 EOOD, Global Strategy EAD, Post Fin Engineering Income EOOD (formerly Fin Engineering Inc EOOD) and Verginia FinCorp EOOD. The Commission warns consumers and the public that these companies do not have a license issued by the FSC for the provision of investment services and / or investment activities within the meaning of Art. 6 of the Markets in Financial Instruments Act (MFIA). Therefore these companies are not entitled to carry out such activities on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, as well as to receive funds in their bank accounts in order to invest them in financial instruments. At present, the following websites have been established, which are connected with Grand Spot Market EOOD and Grand Eastern Market EOOD: https://grandspotmarket.com, https://grandeasternmarket.com.

 The provision of investment services and the performance of investment activities may be carried out only by a joint stock company or a limited liability company with registered office and address of management in the Republic of Bulgaria, which has a license to operate as an investment firm under the terms and conditions of the MFIA. In this context, on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria investment services can be provided only by:

–              investment intermediaries licensed by the FSC;

–              investment intermediaries – banks licensed by the BNB;

–              investment intermediaries licensed by the competent authorities of other Member States of the European Union and providing investment services on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria in accordance with the law (Chapter 4, Section II of the MFIA);

–              investment intermediaries from a third country, providing investment services on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria in accordance with the law (Chapter 4, Section III of the MFIA)

 The FSC draws the attention of potential investors to the fact that before transferring funds for trading in financial instruments, they should always check on the FSC website whether the person on whose account they intend to make the transfer has the right to provide investment services and / or perform investment activities. As an indication that the potential investor is the subject of fraud is the fact that the name of the company specified in the contract as an investment firm, which in some cases may be identical to a licensed one, differs from the name of the company on whose account the funds should be transferred. Aggressive commercial practices, such as persistent and unsolicited commercial communications to potential investors by telephone and e-mail, are often used.

 Licensed investment intermediaries can be verified on the FSC website – http://www.fsc.bg  and / or on the websites of the competent authorities of the European Union, as well as on the website of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) – https://www.esma.europa.eu/. The FSC website also has a list of investment intermediaries that have notified the Financial Supervision Commission of their intention to provide financial services in the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria. Trading through an intermediary that does not appear on these lists means that said intermediary operates illegally without meeting the necessary regulatory and supervisory requirements, which in turn leads to a lack of security for the funds invested.

 In view of international awareness, Mr. Boyko Atanasov stressed that information about companies and platforms for which negative information is available can be found on the websites of:

– ESMA- https://www.esma.europa.eu/investor-corner/warning-and-publications-investors/;

– International Organization of Securities Commission (IOSCO) – – www.iosco.org/investor_protection/?subsection=investor_alerts_portal.