ASIC CFD penalties helped push the regulator’s 2025-26 civil penalty total to a record AU$830 million, with one Union Standard case making up about 36% of the year.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission said Australians affected by misconduct also received AU$644 million during the same period. A major share of the penalty total came from a Federal Court order on 12 June 2026. That ruling imposed AU$300.2 million in penalties on Union Standard International Group and its former authorised representatives EuropeFX and TradeFred.
The court divided that amount into AU$156.7 million for Union Standard, AU$114.1 million for EuropeFX, and AU$29.4 million for TradeFred. ASIC said this was the largest penalty it had secured in a single regulatory matter. Meanwhile, the regulator had already reported AU$349.8 million in civil penalties for July to December 2025, which means about AU$480 million was added in the second half.
ASIC CFD Penalties Led by Union Standard
The Union Standard matter focused on conduct from 2018 to 2020. During that period, EuropeFX and TradeFred marketed and issued CFDs to customers, including in China. The Federal Court found the two firms made most of their revenue from customer trading losses.
The court said the entities profited from client losses in 95% to 99% of cases. Total customer losses topped AU$83 million. ASIC Chair Sarah Court said the penalties matched the egregious nature of the misconduct in the case.
Union Standard entered voluntary administration in mid-2020. Its Australian financial services licence was cancelled in September that year. However, the Federal Court’s orders were temporarily stayed until 13 July 2026.
Broader Review of CFD Issuers
ASIC CFD penalties were not limited to the Union Standard case. In March 2026, the Federal Court ordered Oztures Trading, trading as Binance Australia Derivatives, to pay AU$10 million. The case involved misclassifying more than 85% of its Australian customer base and exposing 524 retail investors to high-risk crypto derivative products without required protections.
That conduct led to more than AU$12 million in losses and fees, according to the source article. Together, the Union Standard and Oztures matters accounted for about AU$310 million in penalties, or roughly 37% of the annual total.
Earlier, in January 2026, ASIC said it had secured the return of about AU$40 million to more than 38,000 retail investors after reviewing 52 licensed CFD issuers. The regulator said more than half had offered unauthorised margin discounts or breached design, distribution, or reporting rules. ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant said the review helped return that money, while ASIC data showed 68% of retail CFD investors lost money in the 2024 financial year.
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Source: Finance Magnates
