Category: Regulation

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (‘CySEC’) issued an announcement-warning with regard to Worldwide CapitalFX - a forex brokerage brand that is not authorized to provide investment services and/or perform investment activities in the country.
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, known as CySEC, is the financial regulatory agency of Cyprus. As an EU member state, CySEC’s financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law. A significant number of overseas retail forex brokers have obtained registration from CySEC.

Worldwide CapitalFX offers a wide range of trading assets including binary options, cryptocurrencies, Forex and Contracts for Difference. According to the website, the broker is owned and operated by Algobit Ltd. and claims to be located and regulated in the USA. However, the company is not overseen by any authority in the USA or any other country and, moreover, Algobit Ltd. is registered in Seychelles. The offshore zones such as the Marshall Islands, Vanuatu or Seychelles cannot be considered as safest for the clients’ funds and the authorities there do not guarantee the protection of accounts.
There are at least two major red flags when it comes to investing with Worldwide CapitalFX, offshore registration, and false regulation info. Obviously, we wouldn't recommend traders to deal with this broker and think about more reliable options.
When engaging with brokers that do not operate on the grounds of a valid license, issued from a trustworthy authority, traders are putting their investments at higher risk. It is better to avoid dealing with offshore brokerages and choose properly regulated and reliable brokers. A good example of such are the ones supervised by the FCA or ASIC. You can read the full review on this broker here.

Italy’s financial markets and services regulator CONSOB (Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa) has warned that the forex broker Time4X has been offering its investment services and activities to the Italian public without being regulated in the country. Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB; Italian Companies and Exchange Commission) is the government authority of Italy responsible for regulating the Italian securities market. This includes the regulation of the Italian stock exchange, the Borsa Italiana. Time4X is a Forex and CFD broker that operates through the www.time4x.co website. The company is owned by FAH Investment LTD. CONSOB does not provide much additional information, but the broker's site reveals that it is yet another one registered on the St.Vincent and The Grenadines. Much like the Marshall Islands or Vanuatu, the group of Pacific islands is the preferred location for unregulated Forex. They also provide UK number on the website and three languages for the website's users (English, Italian and German), which means that most probably the firm was targeting not only Italian residents. Investing with a properly regulated broker is crucial for the safety of any investment. Here we should note that along with FCA, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), two other well respected institutions, also enforce strict regulatory standards upon all brokers in their jurisdiction. You can read our review on this broker here.

The Austrian regulator FMA (Financial Market Authority) has issued a warning against Forex and CFD broker Profit Trade. The brokerage firm was offering financial products and services to Austrian residents without being authorized in the country.

The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) is an independent, autonomous and integrated authority for the Austrian financial market. The Austrian FMA is responsible for: contributing to the stability of Austria as a financial market; reinforcing confidence in the ability of the Austrian financial market to function; protecting investors, creditors and consumers.

Profit Trade is a broker that offers trading on 200+ symbols including Crypto, Currencies, Commodities and CFD's. The company is owned and operated by Global Top Marketing LTD., registered in the Marshall Islands, which means it is an offshore entity and there is a high risk for the customers of losing their investments when dealing with this firm.

The company doesn't disclose any information about its regulation as well as its location. They provide contact numbers with British country codes, although, the company is not authorized to provide financial services in the United Kingdom. In addition, numerous negative reviews from the scammed clients only prove that Profit Trade cannot be trusted.

The first thing the potential investor should do when he is choosing a trading company is to determine if it is a legitimate broker 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. You can read our full review on this broker here.

Austria’s financial markets and services providers regulator FMA warned that the Forex and CFD broker TradeToro is not licensed to offer its services in Austria. Therefore the acceptance of funds from other parties on a commercial basis for management purposes or as deposits is not allowed.

The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) is an independent, autonomous and integrated authority for the Austrian financial market. The Austrian FMA is responsible for: contributing to the stability of Austria as a financial market; reinforcing confidence in the ability of the Austrian financial market to function; protecting investors, creditors and consumers.

TradeToro offers over 120 trading instruments including currency pairs, commodities, CFDs and indices. The company is owned and operated by Ivory Group Limited, based in Dominica, which means it is an offshore entity and there is a high risk for the customers when dealing with this firm. We have found out that previously the company claimed to be registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. However, the information has been changed not long ago.

In addition, there are a lot of complaints can be found on the net about negative experiences of the customers. People state that they've been losing huge amount of money with this broker, when managers were still promising profits and asking to invest more. 

When choosing a new Forex broker, it is very important to verify that they are in fact licensed for investors from your country of residence. Trading with a licensed broker ensures you will not have issues withdrawing your investment. The most trustworthy brokers are those registered with such regulators as FCA in United Kingdom and ASIC in Australia. You can read our review on this broker here.

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) of New Zealand, the government agency responsible for financial regulation, have issued a warning against FX broker MYfintec. The regulator noted that MYfintec is not registered on the Financial Service Providers Register nor authorized as a financial adviser and is therefore not permitted to provide these financial services to New Zealand residents.

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) plays a critical role in regulating capital markets and financial services in New Zealand. It is the New Zealand government agency responsible for enforcing securities, financial reporting, and company law as they apply to financial services and securities markets.

Let's take a closer look at the broker itself. MyFintec offers trading Forex, CFDs on indices, stocks, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. The company is owned and operated by an offshore-based company Kin Ltd. It claims to be registered in the Marshall Islands. Those brokers registered offshore are not considered as reliable ones, because they are basically are not overseen by any authority.

In addition, the official notice of the FMA states that the regulator is concerned that MYfintec has the hallmarks of a scam, including withholding client funds, the pressure to invest more before being able to withdraw funds, and bank accounts that do not match the company name.

We always advise traders to avoid dealing with unregulated offshore-based forex brokers like MYfintec, as most of them are involved in investment scams. There are a number of properly licensed brokers to choose from, like the ones regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority or the Australian Securities and Investment Commission.

You can read our review on this broker here.

New Zealand's Financial Markets Authority (FMA) warns the public against doing business with or through Everest International Group Limited (now Everest Peak Technologies Limited) and its website www.everestinter.com. The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) plays a critical role in regulating capital markets and financial services in New Zealand. It is the New Zealand government agency responsible for enforcing securities, financial reporting, and company law as they apply to financial services and securities markets. Everest International Group Ltd offers Forex and CFD trading and claims to be regulated in New Zealand. Their website says that the company is certified and regulated by FSP's (Financial Service Providers) top financial regulator. But they never mention the name of the regulator. The phone number with New Zealand's country code is the only contact that can be found on the website. They also state the firm is headquartered in New Zealand, although the company is not registered in the country to provide its financial services and products. There are also numerous reviews from the angry clients about this company on the Internet. Those who invested say that it is not possible to withdraw money from their accounts with the Everest International Group Ltd as all their requests are simply ignored. It is recommended to avoid dealing with unregulated brokers, especially, when they don't provide regulation information on their websites. There are a lot of properly licensed brokers, like the ones by FCA or the Australian Securities and Investment Commission to choose from. You can read our review on this broker here.

The Central bank of Russia announced on Thursday it had revoked the licenses of the country’s largest companies that provide clients with access to the forex market. These companies, which include Alpari, Teletrade, Forex club, TrustForex and Fix Trade had violated central bank regulations. Also, it has revoked the qualification certificates of the chiefs of the mentioned entities.

All the canceled licenses will stop operating from January 27, 2019. Until that date, companies must return their property to customers and close all obligations. The companies have to return all funds to their clients by the time.

As to the Forex Club license, the reason for its termination was the repeated violations of the Russian securities law, improper execution or even noncompliance with the instructions issued by the Central Bank, providing reports with the false data.

Regarding the Fix Trade broker, violation of the procedure for information disclosure on the company's website, violation of the licensing requirements, improper organization of the risk management system. TrustForex broker has also violated Russian securities law, provided false information to the regulator, violated the reporting procedure and organization of the internal control system.

Regarding TeleTrade, the company has violated the requirements for calculating of own funds, submitted the reports with false data and violation of the deadlines. Alpari Forex has also failed to fulfill regulator's requirements. The company has violated of the procedure for maintaining of the internal accounting, provided false accounting data and violated the risk management system.
All the canceled licenses will stop operating from January 27, 2019. Until that date, companies must return their property to customers and close all obligations. The companies have to return all funds to their clients by the time.

In 2016, when forex brokers were to receive licenses of a financial securities market providers, Alpari and Forex Club were named the largest Russian companies in the international OTC Forex market.

Austria’s financial markets and services regulator FMA has warned that Forex broker BECFD is not licensed to carry out banking operations in the country. In essence, this means the company cannot operate in Austria. The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) is an independent, autonomous and integrated authority for the Austrian financial market. The Austrian FMA is responsible for: contributing to the stability of Austria as a financial market; reinforcing confidence in the ability of the Austrian financial market to function; protecting investors, creditors and consumers. BECFD offers Forex and CFD trading options and operates through the website www.becfd.com. The company is owned and operated by BECFD Limited registered in the Marshall Islands, which means it is an offshore entity and there is a high risk for the customers of losing their investments when dealing with this firm. Although the location of the BECFD is not provided on the website, it mentions different contact numbers in the United Kingdom and Austria. The company is not licensed in any of these countries, and there is no regulatory body that monitors its activity to ensure it sticks to best practices. The first thing the potential investor should do when he is choosing a trading company is to determine if it is a legitimate broker 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. You can read our review on this broker here.

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) of France, the government agency responsible for financial regulation, have issued warnings against Capital TradeFX and Lockwood Investments brokers. The regulator states the brokers offer investments in the unregulated foreign exchange (Forex) market in France without being authorised to do so.

The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) is the stock market regulator in France. The AMF is an independent public body that is responsible for safeguarding investments in financial instruments and in all other savings and investment as well as maintaining orderly financial markets.

Capital TradeFX claims to be an international Forex broker, operated by Capital TradeFX Ltd. which is based in St. Vincent and the Grenadine. The broker itself mentions Hong Kong registration, however, it is not authorized by its local Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).

We keep reminding that offshore zones are famous for their loose legal regimes, tax-free and low-cost licenses. They are basically not licensed, nor supervised by any authority.

As to the Lockwood Investments, it is also an offshore broker based in the Marshall Islands. The company seems to be very shady as it was previously operated by the infamous Solutions CM blacklisted by several regulators. In addition, both brokers have gotten into the warning list of the Spanish regulator CNMV. 

We recommend to stay away from the unregulated brokers and pay more attention to the reliable and licensed ones. All the warnings from the regulators are meant to protect the public from fraudulent unlawful financial activity. 

You can share your Capital TradeFX and Lockwood Investments trading experience with us by commenting on this post.