In the same month, Admiral Markets, according to the Finantsinspektsioon, significantly changed the terms and conditions of its financial instruments unilaterally and without notice, specifically the methodologies used for calculating spot prices for crude oil.

It has also increased the fees for sight deposits on the corresponding securities, reports the SNB.

The episode concerns an incident in April 2020 when changes in global financial markets caused international financial platforms to be unprepared to reflect negative prices and calculate credit limits, the SNB reports.

The Finantisinspektsioon says the change process and its basics were not transparent from a client perspective, leading clients to potentially suffer losses or miss out on gains, BNS reports.

The director of Finantsinspektsioon, Kilvar Kessler, says that a professional market player who trades complex financial instruments and offers his services to a wide circle of clients must manage and hedge against the risks and incur the corresponding costs.

A business on the ground also needs to communicate as clearly as possible with its customers when making changes, he said.

Admiral Markets could take the case to court

Admiral Markets said it could challenge the fine in court, saying it did not take into account all of the specific market circumstances.

Company CEO Sergei Bogatenkov said the company always acts in the best interests of its clients and has ensured that clients can continue to trade in global financial markets with peace of mind intact.

Bogatenkov said: “We have always been committed to ensuring that the interests of our clients around the world are protected. In this situation, we have taken steps to reduce the potential impact on our customers.

“We informed our clients very early on of any anomalies in the financial markets and asked them to be vigilant,” he continued.

The Finantskinspektsioon said that Admiral Markets had committed an offense under securities market law by failing to ensure that it was acting in the best interests of its clients at all times, and imposed a fine of € 32,000 to the company.

Admiral offers investment services for trading with Forex and Contracts for Difference (CFDs) on indices, metals, energies, stocks, bonds and digital currencies, the company says on its website.

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