Customer Complaint Dated February 12th 2026

Complaint Matter

Mr. XXX has lodged this complaint with the Financial Commission on the following grounds:

The Client used accounts ## XXX(USD), XXX(USD), XXX(USD) for active operations in the financial instruments of the FX and cryptocurrency market. By the time of the incident, the Client, a long-standing customer of the Broker for over three years, performed multiple trades in the relevant accounts.

The incident on the Client’s accounts occurred on February 12, 2026, i.e., on the day when the Client received an email from the Broker’s Risk Management department, alleging an “abusive, fraudulent, or malicious trading style” and imposing a total charge of USD 43,658.54. According to the Client, the charges, applied without prior notice or consultation, were later explained as retrospective swap fees for the three years during which the Client had been granted a swap-free trading facility.

The Client vehemently disputes both the charges and the classification of their trading style. The key points of contention include:

Trading Style: The Client asserts their trading involves bearing market risk daily, explicitly denying engagement in risk-free strategies like arbitrage, hedging swap-free positions with non-swap-free accounts, or High-Frequency Trading (HFT) with high leverage. They highlight that positions left open overnight, mainly on XAUUSD, which were allegedly abused, constitute a minority of their overall trades.

Evidence of Risk: To counter the “risk-free” accusation, the client cites instances where prices in the financial instrument XAUUSD fluctuated sharply at market openings, triggering stop-loss orders at prices below set levels, resulting in significant losses. In the Client’s opinion, this demonstrates that their positions were exposed to market volatility.

Retrospective Charges: The Client argues that such retrospective charges are unacceptable. They believe any concerns from the Company should have been addressed proactively and amicably, perhaps through direct communication from their account manager.

Calculation Discrepancies: The Client disputes the accuracy of the calculated charges, suggesting that the Broker’s team likely applied the current high swap rate for the financial instrument XAUUSD (73 points) retrospectively to all overnight positions, whereas the historical average rate was significantly lower (around 43 points). They estimate this method inflated the charges by approximately 40% compared to what would have been charged if the swap-free facility hadn’t existed. They also point out that swap rates are not fixed and were sometimes negative, meaning they would have received income on some Long XAUUSD positions under standard conditions.

High Spreads: The Client also notes experiencing unusually high spreads on XAUUSD, reaching 85 points compared to a market average of 7 points, which they claim generated substantial commissions for the Broker.

The Client does not agree with the Broker’s decision on their complaint (see below) and considers the actions of the Broker to be unfair. In addition, the Client claims that it is the Broker’s obligation to notify the account holder in advance of any breaches of the applicable trading rules and to recommend any action to rectify the situation (i.e. to stop trading and to change the trading strategy). In this regard, the Client requests that the Dispute Resolution Committee of the Financial Commission review the disputed transactions for alleged violations and demands a full refund of all the imposed fees in the amount of 43,658.54 USD, deeming the decision unfair and incorrect. The Client accepts the revocation of their swap-free status, noting they have continued trading profitably under non-swap-free conditions, indicating that swap fees have a negligible impact on their overall strategy. The Client has provided the investigation with the history of trading/non-trading operations performed on their account # XXX, the history of trading/non-trading operations performed on their account # XXX opened with an independent financial services provider (Broker 2), the email communication with the Broker regarding the dispute, as well as the original complaint filed with the Broker, as documentary evidence.

The Broker, in turn, alleges that the Client has engaged in prohibited trading activities and has violated the trading policies established by the Company. The Broker states that clients shall not engage in any trading strategies or activities that may be considered as an abuse of the trading environment, including, but not limited to, swap arbitrage. The Broker states that they reserve the right to investigate and take necessary action against any accounts suspected of engaging in suspicious trading activity.

In support of their decision, the Broker has provided the history of trading/non-trading operations performed on the Client’s trading accounts ## XXX, XXX, XXX, as well as the screenshot of the Swap Free Agreement signed by the Client, as documentary evidence.

Complaint Response

The decision on this complaint is based on the information provided by the Broker and Mr. XXX. After a comprehensive analysis of the documentary evidence provided by the Client and the Broker the Dispute Resolution Committee of the Financial Commission has come to the following conclusions:

1. First of all, it should be noted that, according to the information received from the Broker:
2. a) Following a detailed review of the trading activity on accounts ## XXX, XXX, XXX, they identified a consistent trading pattern on XAUUSD under swap-free conditions.
3. b) The internal investigation confirmed that Long positions were frequently opened shortly before the daily rollover time and closed shortly after the market reopened, typically within a single rollover cycle.
4. c) The relevant activity represented approximately 73%–80% of the overnight XAUUSD Long exposure during the reviewed period and was often concentrated around triple-swap rollover days.
5. d) Although the accounts also contain broader intraday trading activity, the rollover-timed exposure in the financial instrument XAUUSD remained materially significant both in frequency and volume. The repeated timing, directional concentration and consistency of this activity formed the basis of this assessment.

Therefore, the Broker believes that the Client may have employed a particular trading strategy designed to generate risk-free profits through swap arbitrage. Based on the documented trading pattern, rollover exposure analysis, weighted average swap reconstruction and the contractual provisions of the Swap-Free Agreement, the Broker considers that the applied swap adjustments are contractually supported and operationally justified.

2. Second, the Broker further clarified that the matter under review does not relate to the profitability of the Client’s trading strategy, but rather to the use of the swap-free facility. According to the Broker, the swap-free feature is designed to accommodate clients who cannot hold positions with overnight financing for specific reasons, and it is not intended to remove financing exposure where positions are systematically structured around rollover periods. The pattern identified resulted in financing exposure being transferred to the Company, which the swap-free facility is not intended to support. The Broker emphasizes that at account onboarding, the Client signed the Swap-Free Agreement, which clearly states that the swap-free facility must not be used in a manner that transfers financing exposure to the Company. The Agreement further provides that, where such use is identified, the Company may recover the equivalent swap charges. In this regard, in support of its position, the Broker refers to the provisions of clause 39.1 of the Client Agreement:

39.SWAP-FREE ACCOUNT

39.1 In the case where the Client opens a Swap-Free Trading Account(s) the Client acknowledges and agrees to the following:

1. If the Broker suspects any fraud, manipulation, swap-arbitrage or other forms of deceitful or fraudulent activity in a Client’s account(s) or otherwise related or connected to any and/or all Transactions, then the Company reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to close all open positions in the Client’s Trading Account and deduct or add a penalty (equivalent to the swap and/or any profit amount) for all Transactions made in the account(s) and decline from accepting any further requests from the Client to be exempted from any swaps; b. The Client acknowledges and agrees to:
2. trade only with instruments shown in the List and
3. the Swap Free charge for all positions open as these may be defined and/or issued by us from time to time (inclusive of the day of the position is opened and/or closed) and as such charges and duration is provided within the Contract Specifications for Swap Free Accounts section on the Website.
4. Third, with respect to the applied adjustments, the Broker confirms that the calculation was not based solely on current swap rates. Instead, a weighted average swap rate was applied to reflect the historical trading period and the prevailing financing conditions at the time the disputed trades were executed. This methodology resulted in an average applied rate materially lower than recent peak swap levels and is consistent with standard market practice when reconstructing financing exposure retrospectively.

In addition, the Broker indicates that they also reviewed the external broker statements provided by the Client. While the Broker acknowledges the information shared, swap structures, financing models and liquidity arrangements differ between brokers. As such, the Broker is of the opinion that the external comparisons cannot be used as a benchmark to assess the financing exposure generated under the swap-free structure applied to the Client’s accounts.

4. Fourth, in order to make an objective decision on this case the DRC has analyzed the Client’s trading activity in their accounts ## XXX, XXX, XXX.

Trading Account # XXX

1. a) The analysis of the nature of the transactions performed by the Client revealed the following:

• The Client’s transactions were made in the period between 22.04.2025 and 12.02.2026.
• The Client’s transactions were made in various financial instruments of the FX market.
• The size of the Client’s transactions varied from 0.01 to 3.37 lots.
• The duration of the Client’s trades ranged from several minutes to several days.
• The Client’s trades were made during the hours of both active and inactive market (Rollover): o The total volume of Long positions in XAUUSD was 131.43 lots; o The total volume of Long positions in XAUUSD traded overnight was 105.26 lots; o The percentage of Long positions in XAUUSD traded overnight/total was 80%;

1. b) The analysis of the financial results of transactions performed by the Client revealed the following:

• The net profits accumulated on the Client’s account was 7,193.49 USD.
• The Sum of Swaps Covered by the Broker on XAUUSD was 13,997.82 USD;
• The Net Swaps Covered by the Broker on XAUUSD was 13,995.51 USD; o The Weighted-Average Long Swap in Points was (-)77.14; o The Wednesday 3-Day Long Swap in Points (-)231.42;

1. c) The Client has performed the following non-trading operations on their account:

• The total amount of deposits/transfers to the trading account was (+)114,009.46 USD;
• The total amount of withdrawals/transfers from the trading account was (-)119,202.95 USD;
• The difference between deposits/transfers to the trading account and withdrawals/transfers from the trading account was (-)5,193.49 USD. Trading Account # XXX

1. d) The analysis of the nature of the transactions performed by the Client revealed the following:

• The Client’s transactions were made in the period between 14.03.2025 and 13.02.2026.
• The Client’s transactions were made in various financial instruments of the FX market.
• The size of the Client’s transactions varied from 0.01 to 10 lots.
• The duration of the Client’s trades ranged from several minutes to several days.
• The Client’s trades were made during the hours of both active and inactive market (Rollover): o The total volume of Long positions in XAUUSD was 216.56 lots; o The total volume of Long positions in XAUUSD traded overnight was 158.73 lots; o The percentage of Long positions in XAUUSD traded overnight/total was 73%;

1. e) The analysis of the financial results of transactions performed by the Client revealed the following:

• The net profits accumulated on the Client’s account was 12,369.38 USD.
• The Sum of Swaps Covered by the Broker on XAUUSD was 21,400.95 USD;
• The Net Swaps Covered by the Broker on XAUUSD was 21,373.57 USD; o The Weighted-Average Long Swap in Points was (-)77.14; o The Wednesday 3-Day Long Swap in Points (-)231.42;

Trading Account # XXX

1. f) The analysis of the nature of the transactions performed by the Client revealed the following:

• The Client’s transactions were made in the period between 25.06.2025 and 12.02.2026.
• The Client’s transactions were made in various financial instruments of the FX market.
• The size of the Client’s transactions varied from 0.01 to 6.54 lots.
• The duration of the Client’s trades ranged from several minutes to several days.
• The Client’s trades were made during the hours of both active and inactive market (Rollover): o The total volume of Long positions in XAUUSD was 76.49 lots; o The total volume of Long positions in XAUUSD traded overnight was 60.38 lots; o The percentage of Long positions in XAUUSD traded overnight/total was 79%;

1. g) The analysis of the financial results of transactions performed by the Client revealed the following:

• The net profits accumulated on the Client’s account amounted to 5,139.68 USD.
• The Sum of Swaps Covered by the Broker on XAUUSD was 8,289.46 USD; o The Weighted-Average Long Swap in Points was (-)77.14; o The Wednesday 3-Day Long Swap in Points (-)231.42.

5. Fifth, the analysis of trading operations carried out on accounts ## XXX, XXX, XXX revealed that the profit in the relevant accounts was formed due to the non-accrual of negative swap on Long positions in the financial instrument XAUUSD. According to the Broker, the total amount of negative swap fees that could be applied for the entire period of the Client’s trading activity was 43,658.54 USD. The experts of the DRC agreed with the Broker’s assumption regarding the possible opening by the Client of counter Short positions in the financial instrument XAUUSD with another broker, in order to compensate for losses on Long positions opened on accounts ## XXX, XXX, XXX, as well as to obtain a positive swap on these positions.
6. Finally, on the other hand, the following cannot be overlooked: the Client used the above strategy for several months, repeatedly depositing and transferring funds, closing both profitable and losing positions. In the light of the above, it should also be noted that the Financial Commission in its decisions tries to comply with the principles of fair business practices, which, among other things, include the following: if a problem is detected, its solution should be provided as soon as possible in order to minimize the negative impact of this problem on the client. The Financial Commission adheres to the following rule: if the client has made a profit in an unfair way (using the abusive strategy), then such profit must be recognized as illegitimate within 1-5 business days and removed from the client’s trading account. The client must be informed about the violation in a timely manner and not after several weeks or months at the stage of withdrawing funds from the client’s trading account.

Based on the above, the members of the DRC of the Financial Commission have decided in favor of the Broker. In the general opinion of the DRC members, during the period of the incident the Broker acted in full compliance with the provisions of their regulatory documents and trading rules established by the Company. The members of the DRC recognize that circumstantial evidence may indicate that it is highly likely that the Complainant has in fact abused the opportunity to trade in a swap-free environment in order to generate risk-free profits. As such, the Client’s request for full refund of the imposed fees in the amount of 43,658.54 USD should not be satisfied by the Broker, as these amounts represent deductions made in full compliance with the Swap Free Agreement signed by the Client.

This complaint was reviewed by the members of the Dispute Resolution Committee of the Financial Commission and was processed by the Head of the Committee.

If you have any questions regarding this investigation, please send them to the following address: info@financialcommission.org

Acknowledgement

I certify that all information was considered by the Dispute Resolution Committee of the Financial Commission and hereby confirm that the decision was made fairly, impartially and without interference. I am confident that the information provided in the document is true.

Awards and Orders

• DRC decisions are binding on Brokers. DRC decisions are binding on clients only if they accept them.
• If complainant agrees with DRC’s decision, he’ll need to accept it within 14 days. If the Client does not respond to the DRC’s decision within 14 days the complaint is considered closed.
• Member must award the settlement within 28 days of when the decision was reached.
• If the decision was in favor of the Member, the Client must provide a release for the Member within 7 days of when the decision was made and the complaint is considered closed.
• The Compensation Fund will be only used should a Member refuse to adhere to a judgment from the Financial Commission or if a Member is removed from the Financial Commission without paying their outstanding judgments.
• The Compensation Fund will only cover judgments up to €20,000 per client.