Dr Elena Niki Karletidi is an entrepreneur and legal expert in FinTech and financial regulation. Her book, provides an innovative and in‑depth legal analysis of the Crowdfunding framework in the European Union and Cyprus, published as a practical legal guide by Nomiki Bibliothiki.

 

This monograph proposes innovative solutions to legal questions and challenges arising from the institution of crowdfunding as a new form of alternative finance, both across the European Union and within the Cypriot legal order, with the aim of establishing a safe and reliable alternative financing mechanism in the broader financial and business sector.

 

The work examines a new type of service: the provision of crowdfunding services for individuals and businesses seeking capital. It is based on the research conducted for the author’s doctoral dissertation at European University Cyprus

 

More specifically, the monograph analyses, from a legal perspective, the institution of online crowdfunding, initially through the lens of contract law. It highlights particular legal issues and risks for participants, consumers and companies, who are seeking funding in the form of donations, pre-sale, rewards and other hybrid models that appear online, within the framework of contract law and the law of sale of goods.

 

The research then moves into the field of financial law, examining the relationships between the parties in light of banking law, capital markets law, company law, and the law on payment systems and the transfer of funds. It explores the legal aspects of the relationships between project owners, funders and crowdfunding platforms, the rights and obligations arising from these relationships, and the duties of online platforms in relation to payments, lending and investment.

 

The monograph offers guidance, proposals and legal solutions to issues and risks identified in specific aspects of crowdfunding within the transactional activity of participants (individuals and companies), whether acting directly or through representatives. Its objective is to put forward a more effective and harmonised regulatory framework, with reference to both Cypriot and European law.

 

Because it addresses a new service for the Cypriot legal system, the book is of interest to practising lawyers and in‑house legal counsel, as well as to judges, academics, university students, and all those wishing to make use of crowdfunding in practice, such as consumers, companies, FinTechs, start‑ups and investors. It is also relevant to the legislative branch (Parliament) and to competent authorities and public bodies, including the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, the Central Bank of Cyprus, the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, the Ministry of Finance, the Consumer Protection Service, the Association of Banks in Cyprus, the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), and others.