Fly-by-Night Operators: Fraud in the Financial Sector in Spain

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Fly-by-Night Operators: Fraud in the Financial Sector in Spain

Official bodies in Spain (including the British Embassy) have issued warnings against the operations of unregistered financial consultants offering investment opportunities.

All investment services companies operating in Spain must be licensed or authorised by an official body such as the CNMV (Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores), the DGSFP (Dirección General de Seguros y Fondos de Pensiones), Gibraltar FSC (Financial Services Commission) or the UK FSA (Financial Services Authority).
Note: the UK FSA cannot necessarily protect foreigners in Spain.

Responsibility of Authorised Intermediaries

Only authorised companies may operate in financial products and services, managing the deposits and investments of other people's money.

A legitimate investment firm should be able to provide the potential investor with information on:

• services they are authorised to offer
• conditions they must meet
• standards of conduct they must adhere to
• information they are obliged to make available

For further information select "Intermediaries" under the heading "Guidance": Click here 

The Dangers of Investing

A person investing with an unlicensed operator is at greater risk of being a victim of fraud. Furthermore, the investor in an unlicenced operation is not entitled to benefit from the compensation schemes and is therefore unprotected against possible the collapse of the scheme. The only way to reclaim lost funds is by taking legal action through the courts.

The CNMV requests that any person with information on a fly-by-night operator notify them so that warnings can be issued to protect others. Regulators publish alerts and warnings about companies that are not authorised to provide investment services. This information is available to the public.

• For up-to-date information on companies under investigation, type "public alerts" into the search box at the bottom of this page

What To Do

Before investing, it is vital to ascertain whether a company is qualified to deliver the services on offer. To check if an organisation is authorised (or if it is in alert status) use the CNMV's online "Entities" search tool.

• To use the Entities search type all or part of the company name into the search box (buscar): Click here (in Spanish)

Or consult the CNMV's Official ISF Register.

• To access the Official ISF Register: Click here (in Spanish)

Further Information

• For a free copy of CNMV's booklet on fly-by-night operations call: 
  The Investor Assistance Office
  Tel: 902 149 200