The ingenuity of unregulated binary options brokers is taking yet another journey to the regulators’ websites, as the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ) issued a warning against binary broker Mayfair23.
According to the regulatory warning, the entity claimed it is a subsidiary of FCA authorized company, Scottish Equity Partners LLP (SEP). In reality the binary broker Mayfair23 has never been authorized by the FCA nor any other European regulator to offer its services within the jurisdiction of the UK authority.
In addition to imposting as a subsidiary, the online entity has also claimed to have been audited by SEP. It remains unclear as to why the binary broker has chosen a venture capital firm to attempt to conceal its operating unregulated status, however, the end result is that the FCA has put the matter to rest with its warning.
There is not much more which can be done with similar entities within the current legal framework. Cloned companies are a serious problem in the UK and lately a rising trend in targeting Chinese speakers. Throughout the past months even financial regulators' websites have been cloned by unknown online entities.
Boasting the name of the lavish commercial London district, and targeting individuals with little knowledge about the financial markets. Companies of the like are usually “cold calling” their prospective clients and offering them unsought investment advice, scamming them into depositing funds into fraudulent entities.
The FCA urges all companies suspecting that they have been cloned or individuals who have been contacted by suspicious entities to contact the regulator.
