Registration of a Forex company in Belarus

  1. FOREX COMPANY: CONCEPT AND REGULATION

The active development of the Forex market in Belarus was facilitated by the adoption of Presidential Decree No. 231 dated 04.06.2015 “On the implementation of activities on the over-the-counter Forex market”. It was then Forex received legal regulation in the country. The document contains provisions governing the procedure for opening a Forex company in the Republic of Belarus, requirements that must be met by the broker’s employees, rules for including the company in the register, rights and obligations of legal entities in the non-deliverable OTC market, rules for conducting Forex operations, procedure for excluding a brokerage company from the register and terminating its activities, and other issues related to the market for transactions with currency and other assets in Belarus.
Forex companies can have different names (brokers, trading companies, bookmakers, etc.). The main activity of these companies is currency trading, i.e. performing various operations with assets. At the same time, companies registered in the special Forex register do not trade real currency, their activities are carried out virtually, i.e. using the Internet.
Bookmakers work with objects such as:
– foreign currency;
– precious metals;
– oil;
– stocks, bonds, etc.

  1. HOW TO REGISTER A FOREX COMPANY IN BELARUS

Companies operating on the non-deliverable OTC market are registered by the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus. In order to register a Forex company in Belarus, one must submit a certain list of documents to this body:
– application for inclusion in the register of Forex companies;
– copy of Charter of legal entity;

– copies of documents that confirm the formation of the authorized capital (it is set at the amount of at least 100,000 USD);
– copies of documents on compliance of the company’s head and employees with qualifications and business reputation requirements (it can be a copy of the diploma, course completion certificate, etc.);
– copies of labour books of the company’s head and employees (they must not include indications of dismissal initiated by the employer in the last two years);
– copies of documents confirming the company’s compliance with business reputation requirements.
An identification code is assigned to the broker’s office in the register.
It should be noted that the application for inclusion in the register is submitted in accordance with a special form, which includes, among other things, the following information:
– information about the company’s head, including their education, passport data, etc.;
– information about the chief accountant;
– information about all founders;
– information about the authorized capital (its amount in Belarusian rubles).
The application must also contain information about the company’s provision of additional services.
By signing the application, the head of the company confirms that the information specified in it is reliable; and that funds for the formation of the authorized capital were not obtained illegally.

  1. REQUIREMENTS FOR FOREX COMPANY PERSONNEL

The head of a Forex company is subject to clear requirements. For example, the head of a company that operates on the Forex market must:
– have a higher legal or economic education or, in the case of other higher education, have undergone training in legal or economic fields;
– not have an outstanding or unexpunged criminal record;
– not have been dismissed within the last two years on the initiative of the employer due to the loss of confidence of the employer;
– not appear as a suspect or defendant in a criminal case.
In order to register a betting company, one must first form a commercial legal entity. Usually this is a business entity (LLC, CJSC, ALC). In order to register a company, one must submit to the Executive Committee an application for registration, the company’s Charter, a receipt for payment of state duty, and other documents. Currently, the registration of a company is possible through a notary.
There is no state fee for registering a Forex company and including it in the register. At the same time, the law stipulates a mandatory condition for the initial amount of assets of a Forex company – its authorized capital must not be less than 100,000 US dollars (2 billion Belarusian rubles as of 04.06.2015).
The Decree establishes that only companies included in the Forex register can operate on the OTC market. The register is published online, therefore a potential client can check whether the company is fraudulent.
3. Forex company agreements with clients
Forex companies operate by entering into agreements with clients. These agreements are a public offer, i.e. they are offered in the public domain. A client can enter into an agreement with the company by performing the actions specified in the offer. This can include registering an account, opening a personal profile, filling out a form on the site, and others.
The agreement between a client and a Forex company must contain the following information:
– procedure of depositing margin funds by clients;
– procedure of price formation of underlying assets;
– payment arrangements between the client and the company;
– amount and procedure of commission payment to the broker from the client;
– other conditions.
4. Rights and obligations of Forex companies
The law establishes that a company included in the register has the right to:
– open foreign currency accounts in non– resident banks without the consent of the National Bank;
– operate on the foreign exchange market;
– enter into agreements with clients on assistance in conducting foreign exchange operations;
– perform foreign exchange operations on the domestic exchange market;
– exercise other rights under the law.
The broker’s responsibilities include:
– compliance with all requirements and rules established by the legislator for such companies;
– presence in the company of structural subdivision responsible for internal control;
– notification of the National Bank in the event of change of company’s head and other changes in its activities;
– presence in the company’s structure of a unit, aimed at minimizing risks;
– presence of a website online;
– provision of full and accurate information to its customers;
– other responsibilities, the observance of which is established by normative legal acts.

  1. TERMINATION OF FOREX COMPANIES

If a record is made in the register about the removal of a company from the list, this entails the termination of the Forex company’s activities. Such actions are performed as a result of:
– application from the company’s founders;
– termination of the business entity that acted as a Forex company;
– a Forex company conducting activities that are not specified in the legislation for Forex companies;
– systematic failure to comply with the requirements of the supervisory authority (systematic means more than twice a year);
– other reasons.

Our law office has extensive experience in registering Forex companies in the Republic of Belarus. Thanks to us, several foreign Forex companies have entered the market of the Republic of Belarus, and are still successfully functioning. If you need assistance in registering a Forex company in Belarus you’re welcome to our law office, we will be happy to help you.