No Reprieve For Scams
Israel’s Supreme Court Upholds Binary Options Ban
Israel’s proposed ban of binary options, an industry that once generated $1.75 billion annually, has come into full effect. The last-ditch effort by brokers and tech providers to block the ban was denied. The nation’s supreme court has upheld the legislation stating that criteria for imposing a block were not met.
“After reviewing the request for an interim order, the responses to the request and the answer on behalf of the petitioners, I do not believe that the conditions for granting an interim order under the circumstances were satisfied. Therefore, the request is denied.”
The denial means the ban, scheduled to go into effect at the end of January, is now the law of the land. One victim is SpotOption, the once dominate figure in the spread of binary options, and binary options scams. The tech provider has been forced to shut down all binary options activity on its platforms, when you visit you will now find forex and CFD’s only. Assuming the owners and operators of the platform and trading services were well intention-ed their technology was nonetheless used to commit millions in frauds that are now coming to an end. The bad news is that any respectable broker using their platform is included.
UK’s FCA Flags Brokers And Affiliates For Misconduct
The UK’s FCA began to officially regulate the binary options industry at the beginning of January is already hard at work. The regulator has been issuing warnings against brokers and affiliates who are not complying with new procedures. This is a new approach as it has taken other regulators a long time to turn their attention to the marketers and black-hat SEO’s who commit most of the frauds. The FCA says that anyone not in compliance with those laws is in criminal offense and subject to prosecution.
The agency is relying on complaints from the public but also monitors the industry for brokers breaking the law. They’ve uncovered what we’ve known for years, offshore brokers are using shell companies and virtual offices to appear as if they are regulated by the FCA; they are not.
Belize Regulation Scams On The Rise
Belize’ IFSC is on the hunt for binary options fraud in their jurisdiction as well. The county does indeed regulate financial firms including binary options and non-regulated scams are taking advantage of it. The latest to claim a Belize registration is LittInvest LTD operating as Littinvest.com. The website also claims to have regulation in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the UK. None of the claims are true so beware.