This is a translation of the article written by Kristof Van der Stadt and published on datanews, Le Vif website on the 13th of July. This article deals with the anouncement of the FSMA about the crowdfunding regulations.
The Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) publishes on its website explanations about crowdfunding.
These explanations are intended to both those who want to implement an initiative of its kind and those who wish to invest money through crowdfunding. This financing system allows to collect public money, often via the internet, for a specific purpose which can be a social project, but certainly also a start-up company.
"The number of initiatives in the field of crowdfunding is increasing. It is therefore useful to clarify the applicability of the various financial laws in this area, and to attract consumers' attention on the rules and the potential risks they face, "said Jean-Paul Servais , the chairman of the FSMA.
Depending on the terms of the initiative of crowdfunding, several financial laws may apply, such as legislation on prospectus, investment services, collective investment institutions ... It thus appears that in some cases, crowdfunding projects are not controlled by the FSMA. To properly orient everyone in the maze of laws, the FSMA has now published on its website explanations and block diagrams.
Anyway, the crowdfunding is dominating the headlines. Just this week, the CD&V senator Peter Van Rompuy (CD&V) has launched a bill to raise the financial ceiling on that matter. This proposal also explicitly refers to the FSMA.