Category: Regulation

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned that 4XPremium (Index Limited) is a clone of the renown forex brokerage Global Market Index Limited, which holds a license from FCA, among others. According to FCA, 4XPremium is not authorized to carry out regulated financial services in the UK.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom, but operates independently of the UK Government, and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry. The FCA regulates financial firms providing services to consumers and maintains the integrity of the financial markets in the United Kingdom.

4XPremium operates through the website www.4xpremium.com and provides Forex and CFD trading. The company is owned and managed by the Index Limited. They don't give much information about trading conditions as well as the contact details. The only way to contact the broker is via email or live chat. There is no information about firm's location, but judging from the languages supported on the website (English, Italian, and German), they have been trying to provide their services to the European residents without being regulated in those particular companies.
In addition, as we have already mentioned, the owner-company Index Limited is a clone of the FCA-regulated Global Market Index Limited. Clone firms use some or all of the details of a genuine entity, aiming to convince investors they are indeed the authorized company or that they work with them.
The UK is a strong forex market with tight regulation. The FCA is renowned for its strict standards and tight supervision. The regulator keeps a register of unauthorized forex brokers that target local citizens and regularly issues alerts against entities that could potentially hurt local investors. Be aware of such companies before dealing with any brokerage company.

The Financial Markets Authority of New Zealand (FMA) have issued a warning against MaxCFD, an unauthorized company offering Forex trading, broker assisted trading accounts, full service trading accounts and self-directed trading account. The regulator has received a report about unreasonable and unexplained withholding of client funds by MaxCFD operated by Chemmi Holdings Ltd. 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. MaxCFD offers trading Forex and CFD and operates through the website www.maxcfd.com. The broker is owned by Chemmi Holdings Ltd. based in London, United Kingdom. There is also a regulation number of this company, but they don’t mention any specific regulator. If the company is located in United Kingdom, then the regulator is FCA,  there are no records about MaxCFD being registered there. Moreover, the broker has been blacklisted by UK’s FCA as well. Investing with a properly regulated broker is crucial for the safety of any investment. Here are some reliable regulators: UK’s FCA, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). These are well respected institutions, also enforce strict regulatory standards upon all brokers in their jurisdictions. You can read our review on this broker here.

Spain’s financial markets and services regulator CNMV has issued a warning against two forex brokers HQBroker and Grand Capital. According to the public warning notice, these entities are not authorized to provide investment services or investment advice and auxiliary services, including foreign currency transactions in Spain.

The National Securities Market Commission (often abbreviated as CNMV) is the Spanish government agency responsible for the financial regulation of the securities markets in Spain. It is an independent agency that falls under the Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness. The regulator maintains a register with investment companies that are authorized to operate in Spain.

Both brokers don't provide any regulatory information and are registered offshore. 

HQBroker is an offshore forex broker operated by Capzone Invest Ltd., registered in the Marshall Islands. The company claims to be located in Hong Kong, however, it is not authorized in the there or any other country. Besides the CNMV warning, HQBroker has appeared in the notices from the UK's FCA and Canadian OSC. 

Grand Capital is another offshore forex and binary options broker operated by GrandCapital Ltd., registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadine. Although it claims to be registered with the Financial Commission, it is a self-regulatory organization which cannot guarantee the safety of the trading environment and does not regulate the daily operations of the company.

Generally, we always advise traders to avoid dealing with offshore forex brokers, 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 FCA or the Australian Securities and Investment Commission. You can read our reviews on Grand Capital and HQBroker here.

Italy’s financial markets and services provider regulator CONSOB (Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa) has updated its list of forex brokers who are not licensed to operate in Italy with one new addition – Dubai FXM. This broker has been offering investment services and activities to the Italian public without being authorized 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.

Dubai FXM is a Forex and CFD broker that operates through the website www.dubaifxm.com. The broker is operated and owned by Dubai FXM Limited, based and registered in Vanuatu by the VFSC (Vanuatu Financial Services Commission). The offshore zones such as Vanuatu, Marshall Islands or Seychelles cannot be considered as safest for the clients' funds and the authorities there do not guarantee the protection of accounts.
The website also states that Dubai FXM Limited FOREX MARKET is an EU registered trademark, which supposed to make clients think the broker's services are legit in EU. However, Dubai FXM is not regulated by the EU or any other regulators.
A few more proofs that the broker has been targeting EU residents without being authorized are the languages supported on the website (Italian, Spanish and Swedish) and the British contact phone number. All these facts should be enough for serious traders to avoid dealing with the broker.
Investing with a properly regulated broker is crucial for the safety of any investment. Here are some reliable regulators: UK’s FCA, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). These are well-respected institutions, also enforce strict regulatory standards upon all brokers in their jurisdictions.
You can read our review on this broker here.

Italy’s financial markets and services provider regulator CONSOB (Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa) has updated its list of forex brokers who are not licensed to operate in Italy with one new addition – FxtPremium. This broker has been offering investment services and activities to the Italian public without being authorized 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.

The broker operates through the website www.fxtpremium.com and offers Forex, commodities, precious metals, indices, cryptocurrencies and CFDs trading options. The brokerage doesn't mention the name of the firm that stands behind the brand name and owns and operates it. It also doesn't provide much information about the location of the office. However, FxtPremium is not authorized to provide investment services in Italy. There isn't any information about the company's registered address and the only available contact method is via phone.

Although there is still some information about the jurisdiction the broker belongs under - Vanuatu - disclosed in the terms and conditions.
Vanuatu is the preferred location for unregulated forex brokers and there is always a high risk of losing the investments with such companies. As you have already understood FxtPremium seems to be one of those. Either way, 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 our review on this broker here.

Spain’s financial markets and services regulator CNMV has issued warnings against two forex brokers Zenith FX Trade and GstRel. According to the public warning notices, these entities are not authorized to provide investment services or investment advice and auxiliary services, including foreign currency transactions in Spain.

The National Securities Market Commission (often abbreviated as CNMV) is the Spanish government agency responsible for the financial regulation of the securities markets in Spain. It is an independent agency that falls under the Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness. The regulator maintains a register with investment companies that are authorized to operate in Spain.

Zenith FX Trade is an investment company offering its investors access to high-growth investment opportunities in Forex and Crypto markets and other services. According to the information provided on the website, Zenith FX Trade is the United Kingdom registered legal international investment company. Despite the provided documents about the registration with the Companies House, it doesn’t mean the authorization of the Financial Conduct Authority. Companies House is the United Kingdom’s registrar of companies, it is not the regulator that approves licenses for the brokers in the UK. And, of course, there is no information about this broker in the UK's FCA register. 

As to the Forex broker GstRel, it doesn't disclose the company behind the brand name and claims to be located in the United States. The terms and conditions on the website state the Company is licensed and regulated under e-gaming in the British Isles (offshore zone) by the Isle of Man GSC. However, the Gambling Supervision Commission is not the regulator that authorizes brokers in the US or any other country. 

We always advise traders to avoid dealing with unregulated forex brokers, such as Zenith FX Trade and GstRel. You can also share your experience with these brokers by commenting on this post.

Italy’s financial markets and services provider regulator CONSOB (Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa) has updated its list of forex brokers who are not licensed to operate in Italy. Kronosinvest and 4xincome are happened to get into the list. These firms have been offering investment services and activities to the Italian public without being authorized in the country.

Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB; Italian Companies and Exchange Commission) is the Italian governmental authority responsible for regulating the Italian securities market. The regulator is also responsible for the Italian stock exchange, the Borsa Italiana.

Both 4xincome and Kronosinvest do not provide any information about their location or regulatory details, which is quite suspicious and does not put a lot of trust in potential traders. 

4xicome is an offshore company registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadine. The broker offers a wide range of assets, including Forex, CFDs and Shares. Besides the offshore registration which is already a red flag for the investors, the broker doesn't seem to be regulated by any authority. 

Kronosinvest is a Forex broker, operated by Kronosinvest Ltd. The company falsely claims to be overseen by the Estonian authorities without being actually regulated there. We advise avoiding companies that try to delude clients as Kronosinvest does. 

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 unregulated brokerages and choose properly regulated and reliable brokers.

You can also share your trading experience with Kronosinvesr or 4xincome by commenting on this post.

Italy’s National Commission for Companies and the Stock Exchange (CONSOB) issued a warning against forex broker Market GBP. The company is not licensed to provide financial and investment services in Italy. 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. Market GBP is a forex broker that operates on the website marketgbp.com. Market GBP offers the MT4, Mobile, and Web forex trading top platform. MarketGBP.com offers over 45 forex currency pairs, CFDs, commodities, gold, silver, oil, indices and precious metals for your personal investment and trading options. The company is owned by Blonde Bear OU that is located in Tallinn City, Estonia. Also, the website mentions the registration number, which means the company is registered in Estonia. The phone number provided on the website is British. These two facts already seem to be quite confusing. The company is not regulated UK's FCA and have no legal right to be located there. The website offers a few language options (English, German, Swedish, Spanish and Italian) that proves the broker has been trying to provide its services to the European residents without being regulated in those particular companies. All these facts are more than enough to stay away from the Market GBP firm. In Italy, as in any other EU Member State, financial intermediaries, including forex brokers, are not allowed to operate without proper authorization either from the local authorities or from any financial regulator of another EU country. You can read our review on this broker here.

Italy's financial markets and services regulator CONSOB (Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa) has issued a warning that the offshore forex broker CFD Royal is not licensed to provide services in Italy. 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. The broker operates on the website cfdroyal.com and offers forex and CFD trading. The brokerage CFD Royal is owned by the United Limited - an offshore company registered on the Marshall Islands. Besides the address on the Marshall Islands, there is one more address claims that the main office is on the St. Vincent & The Grenadines. Too many offshore locations and no proper regulation to be able to target European residents. Judging by the language options, the broker is mainly targeting Italian- and Spanish-speaking clients. Also, all the phone numbers provided on the website have British country code, although the locations are offshore. This looks even more confusing and should be enough for serious traders to avoid dealing with the broker. In Italy, as in any other EU Member State, financial intermediaries, including forex brokers, are not allowed to operate without proper authorization either from the local authorities or from any financial regulator of another EU country. 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. You can read our review on this broker here.