category: Unregulated Brokers

Is Admiral-Markets Scam or Legit Broker?

Admiral-Markets broker is a non-regulated Broker. It is NOT SAFE to trade with this company. We have checked the company and there is no authorization or registration of the address, therefore the company seems to be highly suspicious and might operate its services from an absolutely different location.

• Admiral-Markets is a company that claims its leading passions and the best way to access the global financial markets, trading and speculation on cryptocurrencies in particular. The broker, however, does not mention its registration address, or any regulatory status, or even provide legal data.

What is Admiral-Markets?

Admiral-Markets is a quite big trading name, known in markets and the trading industry, which in fact has nothing to do with a current website and offering. Actually, this is a typical tactic of the fraudulent company to take over a reputable name from a regulated and well-established broker, in return to mislead traders and attract possible investors. Specifically, Admiral-Markets.com misrepresent the truly regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Admiral Market broker (check out reviews about Admiral Markets by the link).

• In addition, it has come to the attention of France's authority AMF that the broker offers the unsolicited trading capability to residents. An unregulated firm means that there is no adherence to requirements and laws, as well as non-compliance to basic investor protection rules, handling, and other obligations. Therefore, we always recommend choosing among the industry-leading and well-regulated Forex brokers to ensure a further positive experience while trading.

“The AMF regularly publishes the list of websites and entities offering in France, without having the right, investments in the foreign exchange market (Forex) and included admiral-market.com. Since the intermediary concerned does not appear on a register in the context of Forex or does not have a registration number for investment, do not respond to his solicitations. You would take the risk of choosing an intermediary who does not respect the basic rules of protection and good information of investors.”

AMF, France. November 2018.  

• The pages and official sources of the international regulators’ list alert are shared with the authority directly or by other countries’ supervisory bodies or transmitted centrally. Those tools and the general purpose of the regulatory bodies operate in order to enable stability of the market offerings, protect clients from potential and numerous frauds, enable reliability rules to financial service entities, and more. As Admiral-Markets got no license to operate within the EU and other regulated jurisdictions, the broker was blacklisted and alerted by the EU authority.

Admiral-Markets Review Conclusion

We advise all investors and traders to avoid Admiral-Markets and other unregulated brokers. The lack of information about the broker’s regulations, trading conditions, and contact details should be the biggest red flag for those who plan to invest with the entity. Usually, such companies run investment scams. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as Alpari and XM.

Admiral-Markets Update

Based on our research, the Admiral-Markets website is inactive. This means the broker has muted its trading offering and does not operate. However, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals. 

Is Bex Options Scam or Legit Broker?

Bex Options is not a secure Forex broker since it does not hold a license from any worldwide serious Forex authority. Meaning the broker is suspected of being a fraud company since it was not checked for its compliance before establishment, was never monitored in terms of its safety, and simply may operate the business in any way it wishes.

What is Bex Options?

Bex Options is a broker that offers forex, cryptocurrencies, binary options (See Regulated Binary Options Brokers), and CFDs trading. The company is owned and operated by Bex Options Trade and Investment and claims to be located and regulated in the UK. They even provide the registration number with the UK's FCA on the website, however, the company is not regulated by the FCA or any other authority. The registration number belongs to another FCA-regulated company Bex Trading Limited that has no connection to Bex Options. It seems like the broker has been using the registration details of a legit company and has been deluding the traders. As a proof to this, there is a warning issued by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority stating:

"This firm is not authorised by us and is targeting people in the UK. Based upon the information we hold, we believe it is carrying on regulated activities which require authorisation. Please note that Bex Options and https://bexoptions.com/ is in no way connected to the registered company Bex Trading Limited (CRN: 09563470)"

Bex Options Review Conclusion

Most of the forex/CFD brokers in the UK have to be licensed by the FCA (See XM review here). It is clear that Bex Options doesn't hold a license from the regulator, moreover, it has been using the details of a genuine, licensed company to get clients' trust. Thus, we advise traders to choose among well-regulated and reliable brokers that guarantee the segregation of the accounts and the protection of funds. Check the list of FCA-regulated brokers.  It is safe to trade with brokers, such as  BlackBull Markets, FXGT, and FBS.

Bex Options Update

Based on our research, the Bex Options website is inactive. This means the broker has muted its trading offering and does not operate. However, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals. 

Is Affiliated Trade Group Scam or Legit broker?

Affiliated Trade Group is a 100% fraud company. The broker is registered offshore and does not hold any proper license from a well-known reliable financial regulator. It is NOT SAFE to trade with Affiliated Trade Group.

• We never advise trading with an offshore broker, since the financial investment service they deliver is not trustable. The reason is simple, the broker may promise the most ever competitive trading conditions or the trading environment, yet the trader has no guarantee from the official entities that oversee the Forex industry. Thus the engagement in trading with such a company means the trader will believe only in the broker’s words, and of course, it is a high risk.

What is Affiliated Trade Group?

Affiliated Trade Group is a Forex broker that was founded in 1998. The broker doesn't provide any information about the company behind the brand name as well as there are no regulation details have been provided.

• Affiliated Trade Group claims to have regional offices in Costa Rica and Japan, with headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. However, the company doesn't seem to be licensed in Switzerland by its local regulator Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA. Moreover, the broker has been blacklisted by at least two regulators:
  a warning from the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC):

"The public should be aware that Affiliated Trade Group is not registered to sell securities or derivatives in Alberta, and that its actions are not in compliance with Alberta securities laws";

and a warning from the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC):

"The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) is warning investors that the company Affiliated Trade Group and its representatives are not registered in Ontario to solicit investments or provide advice on investing in, buying, or selling securities."

• The pages and official sources of the international regulators’ list alert are shared with the authority directly or by other countries’ supervisory bodies or transmitted centrally. Those tools and the general purpose of the regulatory bodies operate in order to enable stability of the market offerings, protect clients from potential and numerous frauds, enable reliability rules to financial service entities, and more. 
• On top of these warnings, when you click on "platform access" it redirects to another platform Secure Trade FX. We couldn't find any information about this firm, so we suggest traders stay away from both of the companies and invest with reliable brokers.

Affiliated Trade Group Review Conclusion

We recommend avoiding dealing with Affiliated Trade Group, as well as any other firms flagged by the regulators. We advise investing with brokers regulated by well-respected financial institutions such as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), or the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as IG Markets and BlackBull Markets.

Affiliated Update

Based on our research, the Affiliated Trade Group website is inactive. This means the broker has muted its trading offering and does not operate. However, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals. 

Is Kingston Trading Scam or Legit Broker?

Kingston Trading is not a secure Forex broker since it does not hold a license from any worldwide serious Forex authority. Meaning the broker is suspected of being a fraud company since it was not checked for its compliance before establishment, was never monitored in terms of its safety, and simply may operate the business in any way it wishes.

What is Kingston Trading?

Kingston Trading is an investment and independent broker-dealer that claims its proprietary trading desks to serve institutional and high-net-worth clients that operate since 2013. The mentioned headquarter of Kingston Trading in Hong Kong, while enabled operation covers international trading and investment capabilities.

• However, in Hong Kong in order to deliver investment services and trading capabilities, the firm should hold a license from the local authority SFC. The registration process and proper licensing of the broker ensure the company is a trustable one, as to maintain necessary capital requirements, enable customer protective tools and regularly checked in terms of performance. Otherwise, there is no guarantee the broker is a pure scam or another trap to take traders' funds.
• In the case of Kingston Trading, there are not so many reviews about the company's trading environment, which is rather suspicious than confirming its good status. In addition, the company received a legal warning from SFC as claimed its operation in Hong Kong without permission.

“Kingston Trading has come to the attention of the SFC because they are unlicensed in Hong Kong and are believed to be, or to have been, targeting Hong Kong investors or claim to have an association with Hong Kong.”

SFC, Hong Kong. December 2018.  

• The pages and official sources of the international regulators’ list alert are shared with the authority directly or by other countries’ supervisory bodies or transmitted centrally. Those tools and the general purpose of the regulatory bodies operate in order to enable stability of the market offerings, protect clients from potential and numerous frauds, enable reliability rules to financial service entities and more.

Overall Kingston Trading Ranking 

We found multiple regulation and safety issues with Kingston Trading, thus we do not rank positively Kingston Trading, based on our Expert Opinion with over 10 Years of experience in Forex Trading.

• Kingston Trading Overall Ranking is 2 out of 10 based on our testing and compared to 500 other brokers, see Our Ranking below compared to other popular and industry Leading Brokers.

Kingston Trading Alternative Brokers

We found that Kingston Trading has a lot of issues, especially in respect of its safety and customer care. Thus, here are much better Alternatives to Kingston Trading with tight regulations and great trading conditions. We select Good Brokers and reliable options for your comparison below: 

• Blueberry Markets – Forex and CFD Trading with Low Fees
• Trade.com – Good Trading Instruments
• XM – Wide Range of Trading Opportunities

Kingston Trading Review Conclusion

We advise all investors and traders to avoid Kingston Trading and other unregulated brokers. The lack of information about the broker’s regulations, trading conditions, and contact details should be the biggest red flag for those who plan to invest with the entity. Usually, such companies run investment scams. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as Alpari, FXPrimus, and XM.

• Overall ranking and experience for Kingston Trading is Negative

Is Wigmarkets Scam or Legit Broker?

Wigmarkets is not a secure Forex broker since it does not hold a license from any worldwide serious Forex authority. Meaning the broker is suspected of being a fraud company since it was not checked for its compliance before establishment, was never monitored in terms of its safety, and simply may operate the business in any way it wishes.

What is Wigmarkets?

Wigmarkets is a Forex broker that offers a wide variety of modern trading solutions including CFDs, indices, cryptocurrencies, algo trading, metals and commodities. The broker doesn't disclose any information about the company behind the brand. It claims to be located in Belfast, UK.

• However, the contact number has a German country code, so it looks quite confusing and suspicious. Also, the terms and conditions mention that the company is under the laws of Vanuatu, a popular offshore zone for forex brokers. Despite its claimed location, Wigmarkets does not seem to be regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority or actually by any other regulator.
• In addition, Italy's regulator CONSOB has recently issued a warning against Wigmarkets:
  "The National Commission for Companies and the Stock Exchange has ordered the cessation of the infringement of art. 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance consisting of the provision of unauthorised investment services and activities to the Italian public performed by Wigmarkets via the website www.wigmarkets.com"

Wigmarkets Review Conclusion

Trading with offshore brokers is extremely risky. Many of these brokers are scam companies seeking to cut financial and regulatory corners. Unlike the FCA and other EU financial regulatory entities, offshore agencies pay very little attention to compliance-check. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers (Check the list of the FCA-regulated brokers) or brokers in Australia and brokers such as FXPrimus and XM.

Wigmarkets Update

Based on our research, the Wigmarkets website is inactive. This means the broker has muted its trading offering and does not operate. However, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals. 

Is City Global Trading Scam or Legit Broker?

City Global Trading is not a secure Forex broker since it does not hold a license from any worldwide serious Forex authority. Meaning the broker is suspected of being a fraud company since it was not checked for its compliance before establishment, was never monitored in terms of its safety, and simply may operate the business in any way it wishes. 

What is City Global Trading?

City Global Trading is a trading service provider that offers expert advice to help in a smart managed FX investment choice and assist by a most reliable environment through transparent pricing. The broker claims its registration of an address in the UK, as well as the regulation by FCA since the financial service provider operating in the UK should hold a necessary license.

• However, the facts revealed totally opposite situation while the City Global Trading nor regulated or authorized by FCA or any other entity to deliver its service. In addition to that, the FCA has even issued an official warning against the City Global Trading broker, as the company misleads about its legal information and targets UK residents without legal permission to do so.

“Almost all firms and individuals offering, promoting, or selling financial services or products in the UK have to be authorized by us. The firm City Global Trading is not authorized by us and is targeting people in the UK. We strongly advise you to only deal with financial firms that are registered, and check the Financial Services Register to ensure they are.”

FCA, UK. December 2018.  

• Therefore, it comes to the point that City Global Trading is most probably located in some offshore zone or even registered by none while presenting itself as a legit firm.

City Global Trading Review Conclusion

Traders should be extremely careful while choosing the broker to trade with, as scams invent more and more possibilities to target their victims. The reliable offering always would come from a reputable and regulated firm, with a necessary implementation of protective tools.

Thus, as general advice and particular case, we would advise better to choose among truly FCA-regulated brokers, while the list of FCA Regulated forex brokers can assist in choice, or brokers such as FXPrimus (Check FXPrimus broker review here) and XM(Read about XM trading). 

City Global Trading Update

Based on our research, the City Global Trading website is inactive. This means the broker has muted its trading offering and does not operate. However, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals. 

Is Option94 Scam or Legit Broker?

Option94 is not a secure Forex broker since it does not hold a license from any worldwide serious Forex authority. Meaning the broker is suspected of being a fraud company since it was not checked for its compliance before establishment, was never monitored in terms of its safety, and simply may operate the business in any way it wishes.

What is Option94?

Option94 is a Forex and cryptocurrency broker. The company is owned and operated by Lunoforex PTY Limited and claims to have offices in the UK, Australia, and the United States. According to the information on the website, Lunoforex PTY Limited is an Australian company and is licensed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). They even provide a scanned copy of the license that clients can download and check. However, we have checked the register of the Australian regulator and there is no record about the broker or owner-company.

• One more confusing thing is the information about ICC Intercertus Capital Limited. The broker states that all the clients' funds are kept by this company. ICC Intercertus Capital Limited is a CySEC-regulated entity, however we didn't find any connection between these two companies.

Option94 Review Conclusion

To sum up, Option94 is an unregulated offshore broker that cannot be trusted. As one of the most important things when choosing a broker is whether it is licensed or overseen by any of the financial authorities.

Generally, we recommend trading with financial services providers licensed by one of the most respected financial regulators – the Financial Conduct Authority or the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Check the list of ASIC-regulated brokers. In order to succeed in trading, it is always recommended to choose a reputable firm, such as FXTM or XM.

Option94 Update

Based on our research, the Option94 website is inactive. This means the broker has muted its trading offering and does not operate. However, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals. 

Is TheCryptoLimited Scam or Legit Broker?

TheCryptoLimited is not a secure Forex broker since it does not hold a license from any worldwide serious Forex authority. Meaning the broker is suspected of being a fraud company since it was not checked for its compliance before establishment, was never monitored in terms of its safety, and simply may operate the business in any way it wishes.

What is TheCryptoLimited?

TheCryptoLimited is a trading provider that claims its transparent real trades and rates through an innovative trading platform and reliable operation. The address of the firm states United Kingdom with the registration name of the company Crypto Consultancy Ltd. However, the facts show that every financial investment firm incorporated in the UK jurisdiction should hold a license from FCA. Since TheCryptoLimited is not a registered firm, even the address might be fake.

• The broker states its several prizes received for innovations, as well as the highest ratings for reliability and trust, and was supposedly Voted best Bitcoin broker in 2017. However, the information doesn’t seem to be true as there is no any mentioning of the official sources or confirmation of the status. In addition, the broker received a warning from a France authority while further, the EU regulators followed an alert, since the broker used heavy advertising tactics to attract potential clients.

  “The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) and the Autorité de contrôle prudential et de resolution (ACPR) warn the public about a number of unauthorized online investment services in France for derivatives whose underlying include crypto assets. A list of unauthorized sites offers trading of derivatives without its permission to do so.”

  AMF, France. December 2018.

TheCryptoLimited Review Conclusion

As we recommend to any trader, especially beginner ones choose the broker carefully and ensure that the entity offering regulated services that ensure clients' protection. Scams often fake information they provide, thus the lists of registrations assist in verification through official regulatory websites at all times. In order not to fall under fraud trade only with regulated entities and trading providers.

Choose well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FXTM, eToro (Read about eToro forex broker), and Alpari.

TheCryptoLimited Update

Based on our research, the TheCryptoLimited website is inactive. This means the broker has muted its trading offering and does not operate. However, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals. 

Is Pro X Finance Scam or Legit Broker?

No, Pro X Finance is not safe to trade with,  as the broker is registered offshore. Investing with offshore brokers is quite risky as the broker might turn out to be a scam.

• Pro X Finance provides contact numbers with British and German phone codes, which means the company should have offices there. It is also targeting the residents of the mentioned countries. However, Pro X Finance is not authorized to provide financial services in the UK or Germany, and most probably all the other countries.

What's Pro X Finance?

Pro X Finance is an offshore Forex and CFDs broker. The website www.proxfinance.com and Pro X Finance trademark are owned and operated by the company Finovative Technologies Limited reg. number 85452, Trust Company Complex, Ajeltake Road, Ajeltake Island, Majuro, Marshall Islands MH96960.

• Moreover, the UK's regulator Financial Conduct Authority has recently issued a warning against Pro X Finance:
  "This entity is not authorized by us and is targeting people around the world but primarily in Germany, France, Spain, and Italy. Based upon information we hold, we believe it is carrying on regulated activities and making financial promotions without authorization or exemption."

Pro X Finance Review Conclusion

The first thing the potential investor should do when he is choosing a broker is to determine if it is a legitimate or a scam broker. It is very easy to do. You just need to check if the broker is licensed by CySec in Cyprus, or it is under the regulation of the MIFId in the European Union (EU), or it is registered with the UK’s FCA or Australian ASIC. We recommend signing in with reliable brokers such as BlackBull Markets, FXGT, and FBS.

Pro X Finance Update

Based on our research, the Pro X Finance website is inactive. This means the broker has muted its trading offering and does not operate. However, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals.