Following an application by the FCA, the High Court, on 14 May 2019, declared that Xcore Capital Limited (Xcore) and Jonathan Chitty had carried on an unauthorised investment scheme. The scheme took in at least £1 million from investors but only a small amount of the investors’ money was ever used for trading. Consumers gave...

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) has just announced the imposition of a six-year ban on David Stephen Cornford, a former adviser at Kaz Capital Pty Ltd. Mr. Cornford was employed as an adviser at Kaz Capital Pty Ltd between 2014 and 2017. The Australian regulator is concerned that Mr Cornford bought and sold...

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has banned Mr Wang Can, a former licensed representative of China Galaxy International Securities (Hong Kong) Co., Limited (CGIS), for 30 months for misconduct. Wang was licensed under the Securities and Futures Ordinance to carry on dealing in securities and advising on corporate finance regulated activities and was accredited...

ASIC has warned Australian financial services licensees that offer over-the-counter derivatives to retail investors located overseas could be breaking laws abroad, with Chinese authorities having alerted the watchdog that some online platforms have engaged in illegal activity. Many jurisdictions (such as Europe, Japan, North America and China) had restricted or prohibited the provision to retail...

Global investment platform eToro has secured partnerships with seven different Premier League soccer clubs. These deals are especially unique because they were paid using the world’s leading cryptocurrency, bitcoin. The deal could be worth somewhere between £4 and £5 million. The seven Premier League clubs who have agreed to set up a digital wallet with...

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) today announced they have agreed two Memoranda of Understanding to ensure there is continuity once the UK leaves the European Union. The MoUs cover trade repositories and alternative investment funds (AIFs). These agreements will provide reassurance by ensuring arrangements are in...

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has reprimanded and fined BOCI Securities Limited (BSL) HK$10 million over BSL’s internal system and control failures in its investment product selling practices. BOCI Securities Limited is licensed under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) to carry on Type 1 (dealing in securities), Type 2 (dealing in futures contracts),...

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is changing its approach to the compensation of investors. On 13th of March, the Cyprus financial watchdog introduced the final set of reforms to the legal framework governing the operation of the Investor Compensation Fund (ICF). The updated rules reflect the more stringent approach of the Cypriot regulator,...

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is warning investors to be vigilant to the threat posed by investment scammers, as data from Action Fraud reveals over £197 million of reported losses in 2018. Victims were scammed out of over £29,000 on average last year, as fraudsters employed increasingly sophisticated tactics to persuade victims to invest. Most...

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has fined four global banks operating in Korea for illegally sharing information and colluding in price bids to win foreign exchange derivatives contracts from five Korean companies. Foreign exchange derivatives refer to financial products designed to avoid the risks of the exchange rate and interest rate fluctuations in foreign exchange...