LiquiTrade Is Operating ‘Illegal Banking Services’ in Germany, BaFin Says

The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), Germany’s financial industry regulator, announced on Friday that it has investigated the Cayman Island branch of LiquiTrade Limited.

The German regulator said the company has not been licensed under the German Banking Act “to conduct banking business or provide financial services.” Additionally, BaFin added that the company is not under its supervision.

“Based on the content of its website latoken.com, facts justify the assumption that LiquiTrade Limited operates illegal banking and financial services in the Federal Republic of Germany,” the German regulator explained.

BaFin launched a similar investigation on UpbitFX Exchange Limited earlier in April, noting that the website is not authorized or regulated by it.

Banking in Germany

According to BaFin, companies that want to engage in banking or other financial services are required to be licensed under the German Banking Act.

However, the regulator noted that companies trade without getting the required permission.

Moreover, BaFin warned individuals against accepting supposedly lucrative job offers to work as financial agents.

The market supervisor noted so-called ‘financial agents’ can be prosecuted for money laundering and unlawful provision of financial services.

In June, the regulator warned against a lucrative ‘crypto assistant’ job offer supposedly from CWE Capital Holdings GmbH.

BaFin noted that CWE Capital Holding is not the operator of cwe-capital.com, the website behind the job offer.

In addition, it warned at the time that hired 'crypto assistants' could be prosecuted.

“BaFin, the Federal Criminal Police Office and the State Criminal Police Offices recommend extreme caution and thorough prior research to avoid fraud when investing on the internet,” the regulator said, speaking on the new investigation.

Meanwhile, Financial Magnates reported that BaFin disclosed on Thursday that it penalized a multinational investment bank, the Bank of America (BofA), according to a Reuters report.

The German regulator fined BofA $5.28 million for delays in reporting voting rights notifications.