CySEC Expands Warning List, Adds Five Unlicensed Trading Platforms

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) added five more trading services providers to its warning list on Thursday. According to the official statement, they do not hold a license of an investment services company, thus their operations are illegal.

The added platforms are rcebanque.com, winnexconsulting.com, roboticsforex.com, goldenburgfunds.com and onecapitalinvest.co. The websites offer contracts for difference (CFDs) trading, while two falsely claim they are CySEC-regulated. Onecapital Invest cannot be found in the Cypriot regulator register, while Goldenburg Group Limited is a clone of a licensed entity (license number 242/14), operating under different URLs.

“CySEC urges investors to consult its website, before conducting business with investment firms, in order to ascertain the entities which are licensed to provide investment services and/or investment activities,” the regulator stated.

The websites' design and aggressive marketing tactics warn retail traders that they might be fraudulent. The lack of regulations increases the risk of losing deposited money.

Regulators' Warning Lists Are Getting Bigger

The Cypriot financial market watchdog is actively hunting fraudulent trading companies and issuing regular warnings. It recently added seven and then another six trading service providers to its warning list.

CySEC is not alone in its efforts. In Europe, the Italian Consob is also very active in this field, having blocked access to the websites of 780 illegally operating platforms since 2019. In October 2022, the regulator announced that the list had been extended by another six addresses targeting the websites of trading solutions providers for the FX and CFD markets.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) joins the pack, as it is posting new potential fraud warnings almost every single day. Just this week, the British market watchdog charged four individuals for their involvement in a binary options investment which led to defraudation of £1.2 million.