Global forex company JP Markets SA has been slapped with a fine of R100 000 after it was found to have contravened financial sector laws.

The Pretoria-based company provides the platform and technology for its clients to trade forex on international financial markets.

On Tuesday, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) said it imposed an administrative penalty on JP Markets SA for contravening Section 2 of South Africa’s over-the-counter derivative provider (ODP) regulations.

The penalty culminated from an investigation into the company which revealed JP Markets had provided clients with the opportunity to trade in contracts for differences (CFDs) relating to forex pairs, shares and indices on a trading platform when it was not authorised to act as an ODP.

“JP Markets conducted unauthorised ODP business as envisaged in Section 2 of the ODP Regulations,” the FSCA said in a statement.

The imposition of the penalty is the latest in the FSCA and JP Markets multi-year tiff.

The FSCA previously applied to have JP Markets liquidated in its efforts to protect the interest of the public, which was granted by the Johannesburg High Court in September 2020.

But following an appeal by the company, the liquidation was reversed, with the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) stating that the ruling was unjust and that it was not an equitable remedy to the matter.

However, at the time, the SCA confirmed that the business of JP Markets fell within the definition of an ODP.

Following the SCA’s ruling, the FSCA noted that it would consider “all outstanding enforcement actions”, adding that JP Markets was not licensed as an ODP and neither was it entitled to conduct the business of such a product provider.