The Nova Scotia Securities Commission (NSSC) has issued a statement cautioning investors about Magnum Options, which has been offering binary options via an online Trading Platform to residents of Nova Scotia.
Magnum Options, which operates via the url www.magnumoptions.eu and is owned and operated by Hampshire Capital Ventures Ltd, UK, lists a further Bulgarian-based business address on its website. The brokerage is also known to have used the url www.magnumoptions.com but neither of these entities are registered to sell securities in Nova Scotia.
Illegal Advertising
At least one Nova Scotian has reported seeing an advertisement from Magnum Options on Facebook, creating an account on their website using a credit card, and subsequently losing money.
The NSSC has also pointed out that a similar warning relating to Magnum Options was issued by the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) earlier this year for promoting its trading platform to BC residents.
The Commission has urged Nova Scotians to exercise extreme caution when dealing with firms that are not registered in Nova Scotia. It is illegal to solicit investments in Nova Scotia without registering with the Commission and complying with Nova Scotia securities laws.
Background
The NSSC was established to provide investors with protection from activities that undermine investor confidence in the fairness and efficiency of Nova Scotia capital markets, and to foster capital formation where not inconsistent with investor protection.
Magnum Options is the latest binary options broker to be included on the watchdog’s warning list which comes in parallel with a statement on its website warning residents about the increase in binary options solicitations. At this time, no binary options trading companies are registered in Canada so these platforms are engaging in illegal activity.
