Consumer protection investigation at Invest and Trade Ltd investment agent

16 February 2017

The MNB is conducting a consumer protection investigation at the investment tied agent Invest and Trade Ltd and has requested information about the company’s cross-border service provider from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission. The goal of the investigation is to determine whether the company is actually engaged in aggressive and misleading product-selling practices, as indicated by Hungarian consumers.

The Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB) is conducting a consumer protection investigation in connection with the activities of Invest and Trade Monetary Adviser and Marketing Ltd (Invest and Trade Ltd). During the course of the investigation, the MNB wishes to review whether the company has broken Act XLVII of 2008 on the prohibition of unfair commercial practices.

Invest and Trade Ltd is a tied agent of cross-border service providing Cyprus-based Goldenburg Group Limited. During its continuous monitoring procedure, the MNB noticed the agent company’s activities on Hungarian social networking sites, which had many elements that might raise suspicions of aggressive and misleading product-selling practices. These suspicions have been reinforced by the many consumer complaints and objections received by the MNB. Based on the aforementioned information, it cannot be ruled out that the tied agent’s activities might be linked to the practices of a Hungarian agent of a Czech service provider , sanctioned earlier by supervisory measures.

As this case raises consumer protection concerns, the MNB, while initiating the investigation process, immediately asked for information from the financial supervisory authority of Cyprus (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, CySEC) about the status of the tied agent’s principal in the framework of mutual legal assistance. According to the laws of the European Union (EU), the prudential (business reliability) supervision of Goldenburg Group Limited is carried out by the CySEC, who is therefore responsible for the company’s agent as well.

Under EU law, the MNB can take action to protect Hungarian consumers and the general good in the form of a consumer protection investigation. The MNB will use this license in this case and in all possible future cases as well.

The MNB also asks all investors and consumers who may have suffered damages or have complaints to report due to the activities of Invest and Trade Ltd to submit their claims to the MNB’s customer service department via telephone, in a written format or in person as soon as possible.

Magyar Nemzeti Bank