Gibraltar's FSC Issues Warning against Fraudulent Binary Options Providers

Gibraltar’s paramount regulator, the Financial Services Commission (FSC), has reiterated its warning to public market participants with regards to binary options trading platforms and the inherent risks of dealing with such entities.

Binary options are amongst the fastest growing entities in the financial services industry, drawing the ire of regulators worldwide as many, such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the largest financial regulator for all financial markets in the United Kingdom (UK).The UK regulator is responsible for the conduct of firms authorized under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Moreover, the FCA is also responsible for the regulation of behavior in retail and wholesale financial markets, supervision of the trading infrastructure that supports those markets, and the prudential regulation of firms not regulated by the PRA. Its rol The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the largest financial regulator for all financial markets in the United Kingdom (UK).The UK regulator is responsible for the conduct of firms authorized under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Moreover, the FCA is also responsible for the regulation of behavior in retail and wholesale financial markets, supervision of the trading infrastructure that supports those markets, and the prudential regulation of firms not regulated by the PRA. Its rol Read this Term), have repeatedly warned against illicit practices or shut down numerous sites. Conversely, the industry continues to grow and gain legitimacy, despite recurring episodes of fraud or clones.

The FSC in particular has received information regarding a number of websites under the mantle of binary options providers, prompting the regulator to file a "Notice that the company does not have authority to use the address it has registered" at Companies House.

The notice points to references that allege that the companies’ official office addresses were out of Gibraltar, a fact since disproven as a result of an FSC investigation. In addition, the FSC has also been the recipient of a widespread array of complaints from current customers, all of whom cite troubles with withdrawing funds and procuring other funds owed to them.

The companies cited in the warning were Old Square Holdings Limited, Chelestra Limited, Top Volume Solutions Limited and Stargo Enterprise Limited.

Unfortunately for users and customers of binary options, sites are not covered under Gibraltar’s Investor Compensation Scheme, promoting the FSC to warn individuals from dealing with these entities.