The United Kingdom financial regulatory body, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), today warned that it believes a UK-based company under the name Limited Binary has been providing financial services or products without regulatory permission, according to an FCA announcement.
Almost all firms and individuals offering, promoting or selling financial services or products in the UK have to be authorised by the FCA.
The address details of the suspicious company is: 2 America Square, London, EC3N 2LU, and it can be found under the web address www.limited-binary.com.
A visit to the broker website reveals its attempt to mislead investors that it is offering a legal product and claims to be regulated by UK FCA and also registered in the French register of financial agents, which could be accessed from regafi.fr.
That is false – firstly, the FCA confirmed today that the firm lacks such authorisation and secondly Limited Binary should have been licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, not the FCA, according to the current regulatory framework of binary options trading in the UK.
However, in the light of the growth of the binary options market and concerns about consumer protection, the UK Government is consulting on proposals to treat binary options as a financial rather than a gambling product. This would mean binary options would be regulated by the financial watchdog, in line with practice across most of the EU.
Also a Clone
Furthermore, Limited Binary on its website provides a link to check its legitimate regulatory status in France. But a quick search on regafi.fr shows information regarding licensing and Regulation of another company called Banc de binary limited. As such, in addition to claiming a fraudulent UK address and regulatory status, Limited Binary is also another example of a clone company that abuses the details of authorized firms in an effort to defraud investors more easily.
The FCA stated in its official statement that it strongly advises investors to only deal with financial firms that are authorised, and check the Financial Services Register to ensure they are. It also noted that you should be aware that if you give money to an unauthorised firm, you will not be covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service or Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) if things go wrong.
The previous warning that the FCA issued against an unauthorized broker targeted Go Markets. Finance Magnates reported on the activities of the British watchdog yesterday.
