Cyprus financial regulator CySEC has announced that the influence exercised by Pavel Prozorov, as the ultimate beneficial owner of CIF license holder Octa Markets Cyprus Ltd, is prejudicial to the sound and prudent management of Octa Markets. The regulator has thus taken action (see more details below) to remove any influence on Octa Markets by Pavel Prozorov.

Octa Markets / OctaFX

Octa Markets Cyprus Ltd operates the Octa online trading brand in the EU, at website octaeu.com. The group’s sister Octa brand, at website octafx.com, is operated offshore by companies domiciled in Mauritius and Mwali.

Seizure of assets

CySEC’s actions come after earlier this summer Indian authorities, led by The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in India, seized assets of Pavel Prozorov including a luxury yacht, accusing him and OctaFX of defrauding investors by falsely promising high returns through the OctaFX forex trading platform.

India’s ED also stated that its investigation revealed that OctaFX, an unauthorized forex broker promoted via social media and celebrities, laundered funds by collecting investor money through mule accounts in the names of fake e-commerce firms.

Previous regulatory issues

We had reported earlier this summer that OctaFX was fined in India for running an unregulated Forex trading platform. Earlier this year the websites of OctaFX, and of another CFDs broker, XM.com, were blocked in Singapore.

CySEC actions

Regarding its actions, CySEC said that it has decided to take the following measures, with immediate effect, in order to end the influence exercised by Pavel Prozorov:

1. The suspension of the exercise of the voting rights attached to the shares of the CIF, which are held by Pavel Prozorov constituting 95% of the share capital of the company, and

2. The prohibition to Pavel Prozorov to exercise management duties to the Board of Directors of the company.

In a more detailed statement made in Greek, CySEC said that in determining the type of measures taken, CySEC took into account:

i. The seriousness that the legislator attaches to the influence of shareholders and the possibility that this may be detrimental to the proper and prudent management of a CIF,

ii. That the specific measures are deemed, under the circumstances, appropriate to terminate the influence of Pavel Prozorov on the management of the CIF, namely:

• By suspending the voting rights of the sole shareholder of the CIF, Pavel Prozorov, the non-participation of Pavel Prozorov in the decision-making at the general meeting of shareholders of the CIF, which is the body for handling all its affairs, is ensured.
• By prohibiting Pavel Prozorov from exercising management duties on the Board of Directors of the CIF, his non-interference in matters of management and operation of the CIF is ensured.

Previous similar actions by CySEC

We would note that the action taken by CySEC against Pavel Prozorov is something it has done before in similar situations, i.e. when the controlling shareholder of a CIF license holder “gets in trouble” abroad, but the local licensed company is fully compliant with the terms of its license. Last year CySEC issued voting rights suspensions against FXOpen owner Aliaksandr Klimenka, as well as against TriumphFX / ShineTrades shareholder Chong Chun Hseung (which was extended in early 2025).

Company statement

FNG received the following official statement from Octa Markets Cyprus Ltd regarding CySEC’s actions.

The European broker Octa (Octa Markets Cyprus Ltd) is an independent company duly registered and regulated in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Cyprus. We hold an investment firm licence No. 372/18 issued by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).

CySEC has taken targeted governance measures to ensure that no shareholder can influence the management or decision-making of Octa Markets Cyprus Ltd. Our Board of Directors independently oversees the firm in line with MiFID II/CySEC rules.

The EU operation (octaeu.com) is separate from offshore brands operating outside the EU. No systems, client onboarding processes, or payment rails are shared between the EU CIF and any non-EU entities. Additionally, Octa Markets Cyprus Ltd does not offer services in India.

Our company is governed by a Board of Directors composed of highly competent professionals who act strictly within the boundaries of the law and applicable regulatory frameworks. None of the executives or managers of Octa Markets Cyprus Ltd is involved in any legal proceedings or investigations, nor are they associated in any way with the aforementioned organisations. The list of members of the Board of Directors is available upon request.

Furthermore, Octa Markets Cyprus Ltd does not offer or provide services in India, as clearly stated in our Client Agreement. The company has not received any notifications or complaints from law enforcement agencies.

We would like to emphasise once again that Octa Markets Cyprus Ltd operates in strict compliance with the financial regulations of the Republic of Cyprus and the European Union, and, we are implementing a comprehensive set of measures to improve our organisation and processes.