May 29th, 2023, The Financial Commission, a leading external dispute resolution (EDR) organization catering to the financial services industry, announces that it has expelled BalansFX from membership in the organization following numerous failures to comply with the Financial Commission’s Rules & Guidelines.
As a result of the expulsion, The Financial Commission will not be able to reimburse using the organization’s Compensation Fund since clients of approved members can only use the compensation fund and is subject to the ruling of our Dispute Resolution Committee.
As Financial Commission is an industry-supported self-regulatory organization (SRO) our enforcement of member compliance is reflected entirely within our membership standings, where a firm’s integrity and adherence to rules must be strictly upheld in order for membership to be maintained.
For more information about Financial Commission membership requirements, please contact us or visit www.FinancialCommission.org.
About Financial Commission
Financial Commission is an independent external dispute resolution (EDR) organization for consumers/traders who are unable to resolve disputes directly with their financial services providers that are members of the Financial Commission. The Financial Commission initially set out to provide a new approach for traders and brokers alike to resolve any issues that arise in the course of trading electronic markets such as Foreign Exchange, and then expanded into CFDs and related derivatives, in addition to certifying technology platforms used for trading.
May 19th, 2023, The Financial Commission, a leading external dispute resolution (EDR) organization catering to the financial services industry, announces a public warning against a clone website (https://insecreg.com/) that mimics The Financial Commission in an attempt to defraud Forex traders.
The Financial Commission took immediate steps to block the clone website and filed a claim with the domain registrar to take ownership of the all-too-similar domain address to ensure that traders are always accessing official materials of The Financial Commission. Moreover, The Financial Commission takes all necessary actions, including reporting to law-enforcement authorities and initiation of legal proceedings against “catfish”, in order to protect and prevent all fraudulent activities against its clients in the future.
We remind the trading community that the Financial Commission services for traders are 100% free and our representatives will contact broker clients by phone or email only in response to an inbound inquiry received on our website and social media pages. The Financial Commission absolutely does not solicit payments or fees for its services from traders.
The great lengths that companies may go to help perpetrate a fraud can be difficult for even the most cautious investors to detect. Be sure that the .org suffix is at the end of the URL when searching for our website, or clicking on related links when attempting to visit https://financialcommission.org and contact us to verify any email you receive from anyone claiming to be affiliated with the Financial Commission.
About The Financial Commission
The Financial Commission is an independent external dispute resolution (EDR) organization for consumers/traders who cannot resolve disputes directly with their financial services providers that are members of The Financial Commission. The Financial Commission initially set out to provide a new approach for traders and brokers alike to resolve any issues that arise during trading electronic markets such as Foreign Exchange. Then it expanded into CFDs and related derivatives, in addition to certifying technology platforms used for trading.
Financial Commission broker member MTrading, has been granted three prestigious awards at the ForexRating.com Awards of 2021. The nominations bestowed were the ‘Most Valuable Affiliate IB Program’, the ‘Most Reliable Copy Trading Platform’, and ‘Outstanding Social Trading Network.’ ForexRating.com is a spotlight for the FX community to gain insight into the leading platforms. Attentive reviews and advanced analysis of the markets ensure traders stay connected and informed.
Despite any difficulties or shortcomings brokers may have had in recent times, whether it be global health concern or regulatory pressure, MTrading has delivered not only their outstanding service but simultaneously assured the FX space of their noteworthy achievements. Offering reliability and security, MTrading provides a renowned copy trading platform. Additionally, the company has established an exceptional affiliate program, alongside maintaining an unparalleled social trading network.
MTrading is a participating member of the Financial Commission. This signifies that clients of MTrading are protected with compensation of up to €20,000 per submitted claim.
Financial Commission’s certified trading technology provider UpTrader, is elated to announce that they have been granted the award, ‘Fastest-Growing Social Trading Platform‘ at the ForexRating.com Awards 2021. The awards heavily emphasize the most distinguished brokers and trading service providers in the industry, contributing profound insight on the leading platforms.
A widespread shift in our industry leaves many wondering what is in store for the future. Acclimating to market conditions and regulatory change, curating the experience of traders is a driving element for a company’s success. Since 2010, UpTrader has been accommodating a variety of brokers, developing platforms; and in 2018, the company deviated towards cloud solutions. UpTrader also provides a copy-trading platform, forex and crypto liquidity, and MetaTrader 4 and 5 White Label. Brokers could connect their CRM in only one day, and begin servicing clients the next. The company’s feats allow for traders to partake in a secure, and just environment.
Financial Commission broker member Grand Capital has announced that they are the winner of the ForexRating.com award for demonstrating “Exceptional Customer and Partner Support.” The ForexRating.com Awards recognize FX brokers who maintain heightened commercial integrity, facilitate the best conditions for their customers and demonstrate exceptional business practices.
A rapidly expanding retail FX space means that companies are on the move to accommodate their customers with refined technologies and expanded services. Grand Capital delivers in facets of what makes up an unparalleled value towards the customer’s experience. The award of “Exceptional Customer and Partner Support” presented to Grand Capital by ForexRating.com further accentuates the assurance and confidence they furnish to their customers and partners.
Grand Capital is also a broker member of The Financial Commission. Utilizing the free services offered, beginning and experienced traders are eligible for compensation of up to €20,000 per submitted claim.
The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) has announced the publication of internal dispute resolution (IDR) reporting documents for a pilot project with registered companies for the second half of 2021.
The goal of the pilot project is to streamline the IDR process across ASIC registered firms and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), which is tasked with investigating and resolving financial complaints. ASIC has published a data dictionary that sets out the information that financial firms will be required to collect and report to ASIC, and a data glossary that provides explanations about the key terms in the data dictionary.
ASIC has asked firms to consider streamlining their own complaints systems to the data dictionary since registered firms have already been collecting complaints data as part of their own internal procedures.
The new process looks to improve the cooperation between financial firms licensed by ASIC and having membership status at AFCA in order to improve IDR and external dispute resolution processes across financial sub industries in Australia.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced this month that it is extending the temporary relief put in place for foreign financial service providers (FFSPs) that would otherwise be required to submit an application for a local Australian license. Such firms can now continue to operate in Australia until March 31, 2023.
The Australian regulator indicated that it is currently satisfied that such foreign firms are already holding licenses in “comparable financial service rules and obligations” for providing such temporary relief. Furthermore, the regulator stated that they will explore creating “a fast-track licensing process for FFSPs who wish to establish more permanent operations in Australia”.
Firms already registered with a “foreign AFS license will be able to continue to operate their financial services business in Australia under the license issued by ASIC pending any legislative changes arising from the Government’s consultation.
German law enforcement has conducted a series of raids and arrests of alleged participants in fraudulent investment companies and brokers. According to a notice from the Bamberg Prosecutor General’s Office and the Police Headquarters in Schwaben, Germany some 18 people were arrested.
The authorities apparently also conducted searches at 17 different properties and 7 call centers in an effort to bring alleged scammers to justice. The individuals and their firms allegedly scammed European investors by offering fake investment platforms through companies and websites such as FXCMarkets, FXOptexGroup, Swissinv24, CFXPoint, IForex24, CodexFX, HBCMarket, CapitalGFX, Investment Department, Tradingmarkets24, and Brokermasters.
German authorities indicated they intend to prosecute those arrested: “as things stand, the Central Office Cybercrime Bayern will ask for the extradition of at least six of the arrested men. The detainees come from the Republic of Kosovo, Albania, and Germany. The detainees are, on the one hand, call center employees, who were particularly ‘successful’ with German-speaking victims and are said to be responsible as ‘top brokers’ for damages in the millions, and on the other hand, the leaders of the call centers.”
Investors and traders should always check their broker before transferring any funds or opening an account to avoid becoming a victim of such fraudulent schemes.
The international brokerage CMC Markets has announced to its Australian clients that it will no longer offer Countdown trading on its platform ahead of the ban on binary options trading by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) that is coming into effect on May 3, 2021.
The broker indicated that such trading products will be halted at 5 pm AEST 30 April 2021 on its website. Countdown trading allows traders to speculate on whether the price of an instrument goes up or down in a specified time. Once a Countdown is opened, the stake is immediately payable, and a corresponding deduction will be made to the cash in the relevant account.
A Countdown will be closed and settled by the platform automatically once the Countdown expires. These instruments usually have a time frame of just 30 seconds and offer a payout of up to 90 percent. One can argue that such trading instruments are very similar to binary options and indeed, the same instruments are regulated in Britain as licensed gambling products.
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has published a review of its Cyprus Investment Firms (CIF) and identified a number of deficiencies, as well as good practices among brokers it regulates.
The regulator noted that most deficiencies are in risk assessment, monitoring activities and compliance and indicated that “the management board should convene regular meetings where the compliance function can properly present material deviations or situations requiring urgent resolution in order to rectify any urgent compliance matters and the compliance function should properly record such meetings.”
Further issues include reporting obligations and the fact that some CIFs only focus their annual compliance reports on “findings from the evaluation of the Regulated Entities’ written policies and procedures.” In addition, firms are apparently lacking in advisory obligations by not providing “enough evidence or details of regular internal and external training is provided such as records of training logs.”
Good practices were identified in areas of minutes of quarterly meetings with compliance officers and management, as well as preparation of quarterly reports.
CySEC included a set of next steps and advised regulated brokers to “consider the issues raised in this circular against their policies and arrangements in place in relation to the compliance with the compliance function requirements. If, when reviewing the policies and arrangements in place, Regulated Entities identify any weaknesses – they must take immediate actions to ensure compliance.”
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced last week that binary options trading in Australia will be banned starting on the 3rd of May 2021. The regulator indicated that its review of the binary options market in 2017 and 2019 showed that approximately 80% of traders lost money in binary options.
The regulator pointed out specific characteristics of binary options trading that may result in cumulative losses for clients, including:
ASIC estimates that Australian traders have lost an estimated $490M in 2018, while a previous formal warning from the regulator in 2019 looks to have curtailed trader losses to only $6.7M in 2019. The ban on binary options is set to last 18 months, but it is likely to be extended or become permanent following further review by the Australian regulatory authorities.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York yesterday announced the guilty plea of New York resident Tae Hung Kang, also known as “Kevin Kang,” in the securities fraud case related to a scheme involving foreign exchange trading that targeted members of the Korean-American community.
The authorities indicated that Mr. Kang pleaded guilty and “faces up to five years in prison, as well as forfeiture and a fine. Kang has also agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $835,058.32.” The fraudulent scheme operated under the brand name FOREXNPOWER, while Mr. Kang “defrauded investors located in the Eastern District of New York and elsewhere in connection with foreign exchange trading which refers to trading one currency for another in an effort to profit from fluctuating exchange rates. Kang enticed investors to invest their money into stock issued by his company, Safety Capital Management, Inc. (“Safety Capital”).”
Mr. Kang used some of the money stolen from clients to pay for advertisements targeting additional investors and promoting FOREXNPOWER’s outsized trading returns based on an algorithmic trading method that did not actually exist.
We advise all traders and investors to Check Their Broker and if you have doubts, to check the registration and license of a brokerage using our financial regulator search tool.
Police in India have reported that they have nabbed two suspects of an alleged Forex scam approximately worth up to $1.7M. Victims reported that they were contacted by unknown individuals and lured investors to “Deltin International Foreign Exchange in order to earn high profits.”
The investigation and subsequent arrests were the results of a formal complaint with the office of the Commissioner of Police, filed by a victim of the scam. Deltin International Solutions (www.deltinfx.com and www.deltininternationalsolutions.com) was the entity allegedly used to scam more than 100 people into so-called “foreign exchange trades”.
Authorities say the company and the alleged scammers operated for at least a year and a half before the possible fraudulent activity was uncovered. In addition, the scam took “advantage of the situation during the lockdown, they lured many to invest into their companies on the pretext of fetching high returns on their investments.”
The Cyprus Security and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has issued a new warning against unregistered firms operating under the guise of having a Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF) license.
The websites in question are listed below:
geverestfx.com
cryptopros.ltd
frankfurtfx.com
bullishfxmarkets.com
goeverups.com
Investors are always advised to Check their broker before opening an account or investing funds and can find a list of international regulators to confirm the licensing and authorization of brokers around the world on our website.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sued a Bahamian-based brokerage for illegally operating in the United States, according to a notice from March 22, 2021. The company MintBroker International Ltd., operating as SureTrader and headed by co-defendant Guy Gentile allegedly “operated an offshore broker-dealer that marketed its ability to help novice day traders in the United States circumvent U.S. rules that regulate “pattern day trading.” A pattern day trader is any margin customer that day trades four or more times in five business days, provided the number of day trades is more than six percent of the customer’s total trading activity for that same period.”
The regulator further alleges “that SureTrader, through its website, by email, and by means of advertisements on popular U.S.-based day trading websites, solicited thousands of U.S.-based customers to open accounts with and trade through SureTrader. The SEC further alleges that, although it was not registered with the SEC as a broker-dealer during this period, SureTrader nevertheless engaged in ongoing securities relationships with U.S. customers, including by holding funds and executing transactions on their behalf. According to the complaint, as a result of their efforts, SureTrader and Gentile received millions of dollars in transaction-based compensation.”
The lawsuit will be heard in the southern district of Florida and it remains to be seen what arguments the company can bring to its defense. The Bahamas has become a regulated jurisdiction for brokers as of late, although it remains on the list of risky jurisdictions for US regulators, including those tasked with determining the risks of transacting with firms outside of the United States.
The Financial