CySEC’s Chair, Dr. George Theocharides, has opened 2026
with a warning that Cyprus’ capital market is entering a stricter supervisory
phase, as the new EU Anti‑Money Laundering Authority (AMLA), MiCA, DORA and
revisions to MiFID II/MiFIR and AIFMD II reshape the regulatory landscape while
local market activity continue to grow.
In a new circular, Dr. Theocharides
informed all supervised entities that AMLA has launched a public consultation on
draft Implementing Technical Standards.
By the second quarter of 2025, the commission supervised 319
Collective Investment Management Companies and Collective Investment
Undertakings with total assets under management of €10.6 billion.
CySEC Chair Urges Response to AMLA Consultation
The consultation covers Cyprus Investment Firms
(CIFs), Administrative Service Providers (ASPs), UCITS management companies and
UCITS that manage themselves, AIFMs, internally managed AIFs and AIFLNPs,
companies that only manage AIFLNPs, Crypto Asset Service Providers, small AIFMs, and Crowdfunding Service Providers.
CySEC notes that comments must be submitted via the
response link on AMLA’s consultation page by 27 January 2026 and “encourages
the Regulated Entities to respond to the said consultation paper,” making clear
that the call comes directly from the chair.
Dr. Theocharides stressed that AMLA has already started
to reshape the supervisory environment. As of 1 July last year, AMLA assumed a
coordinating and supporting role for national authorities on AML/CFT matters
and will move to direct supervision of high‑risk entities from 2028, with
powers to impose sanctions and set common European standards.
The Chair highlighted ambitions such as real‑time
verification of beneficial owners and automated transaction monitoring,
signaling that data integrity and system capabilities will sit at the center
of future AML/CFT expectations.
MiFID II/MiFIR and Investment Services Tightening
The statement also places AML
changes in the wider context of EU capital markets reforms. After several years
of intense legislative activity, the EU has moved from drafting rules to
implementing and evaluating them in 2025 and 2026.
Against this backdrop, Dr Theocharides noted that
Cyprus’ investment services sector continued to reorganise and grow in 2025,
with 253 CIFs supervised by November and about 30 additional applications under
review.
The Chair pointed to parallel reforms in collective
investments through AIFMD II and targeted UCITS amendments, which add stricter
liquidity and risk management requirements, especially for periods of intense
market stress.
MiCA, DORA and Early Licensing of Crypto Providers
In his overview, Dr Theocharides highlighted the full
implementation of the Markets in Crypto‑Assets Regulation (MiCA) in 2025 as
particularly important, as it introduced uniform rules for crypto‑asset
services at EU level for the first time.
Linked to this shift is DORA, the Digital Operational
Resilience Act, which introduced harmonised requirements for the digital
resilience of financial institutions in 2025
Beyond regulation, the CySEC chair draws attention to
structural change at the heart of the domestic market: the planned
privatization of the Cyprus Stock Exchange. The relevant bill is before the House of
Representatives for consultation and a vote, with the goal of selecting a
strategic investor to take over the CSE’s operation.
This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.
Source link
