As another busy week in the Finance Magnates newsroom draws to a close, let's take a look at the biggest stories from the Fintech, Forex and Crypto worlds, in our best of the week segment.
USGFX Enters into Voluntary Administration
Finance Magnates was the first to cover Union Standard International Group PTY LTD (USGFX) revealing that it entered into voluntary administration as of the 8th of July 2020.
According to the company, it has gone into voluntary administration to allow USGFX to restructure so that it can continue to provide financial services to its client. BRI Ferrier will be the administrator.
In its statement, the foreign exchange (forex) broker said that this move by the company has largely been forced by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), of which USGFX was regulated by.
Read more on the USGFX Voluntary Administration here.
Confirmed: Pepperstone is Seeking CySEC Licence as Part of Brexit Plan
Another exclusive revealed by Finance Magnates this week was Pepperstone, a foreign exchange (forex) broker headquartered in Australia, is in the process of securing a licence from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC),
In particular, Pepperstone has confirmed to Finance Magnates that it is in the process of securing a licence from the Cypriot regulator and that Victor Zachariades will be leading the new entity as the Director.
Currently, Pepperstone is regulated in Australia under the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), in the UK under the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), in the UAE with the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and in the Bahamas under the Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB).
Although the Australian-headquartered broker was not able to provide too many details at this time, the company did confirm that the new licence is part of Pepperstone’s Brexit plan.
Philippines SEC Calls Forsage a Pyramid Scheme, Warns Investors
As Finance Magnates reported this week the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned investors against the Forsage, the top decentralized application (DApp) on Ethreum Blockchain
Blockchain
Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp
Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp
Read this Term, calling it a pyramid scheme.
Forsage is the highest gas-consuming DApp on Ethreum blockchain, with 25 percent of the total, offering a “fully decentralized matrix marketing project.” However, the regulator urged investors against using the DApp, raising questions on its business model and also ordered the owner to officially register with the watchdog.
Read more on the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission Forsage Warning here.
BitClub Programmer Pleads Guilty for $722 Million Crypto Fraud
A 35-year old Romanian programmer has admitted his involvement in creating the BitClub Network, a fraudulent cryptocurrency mining scheme worth at least $722 million.
Announced on Thursday, the US attorney Craig Carpenito stated that Silviu Catalin Balaci was arrested in Germany and his guilty plea was taken by the US court via video conferencing.
The official filing detailed that the BitClub Network was a fraudulent scheme that solicited money from investors in exchange for shares of purported cryptocurrency mining pools and rewarded investors for recruiting new investors into the scheme. The fraudulent scheme ran from April 2014 through December 2019.
Read more on the BitClub Crypto Fraud here.
Head of Wirecard’s Dubai Operations Arrested in Germany
No week can be without its Wirecard drama instalment and this week was no different.
Munich prosecutors confirmed on Monday that former the head of a Dubai-based subsidiary of Wirecard, Cardsystems Middle East FZ-LLC, has been arrested on suspicion of aggravated fraud.
The unnamed executive turned himself in just after returning from Dubai and after a warrant for his arrest was issued. German media have identified him as Oliver Bellenhaus and he joins three other managers at Wirecard, including CEO Markus Braun. They remain under investigation in an accounting scandal that centres on a missing sum of $2.1 billion.
Read more on the latest Wirecard arrest here.
Interactive Brokers Forms New Singapore Entity
Interactive Brokers Group, a global online brokerage, has opened a new Singapore office by setting up a local entity – Interactive Brokers Singapore.
Announced on Wednesday, the move will enable the broker to offer Singapore-listed stocks to its local client as well as add them to its offerings of 135 markets in 33 other countries.
With the new Singapore office, Interactive Brokers has now officers in nine countries – the others are in the United States, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Luxembourg, and the United Kingdom.
Read more on the Interactive Brokers Singapore Move here.
Binance Buys Crypto Card Issuer Swipe for an “Undisclosed” Sum
As Finance Magnates reported, Binance, one of the leading digital currency exchanges, has announced on Tuesday the acquisition of Swipe, a crypto Payments
Payments
One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl
One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl
Read this Term platform, for an undisclosed amount.
Following the acquisition, the companies will work together to bring payments and purchases in cryptocurrency through traditional financial systems, thus bridging the gap between fiat and crypto.
Read more on the Binance Swipe Acquisition here.
Texas Securities Regulator Accuses Mirror Trading of Fraud
Texas Securities Commissioner Travis J. Iles entered an emergency action this week to stop Mirror Trading International PTY LTD, which the Commission states is a South African international, multilevel marketing get-rich-quick scheme.
In the action from Iles, the Commissioner also cites four of Mirror Trading International’s multilevel marketing agents, which Iles accused of illegally soliciting investors from Texas.
The order alleges that Mirror Trading is recruiting multilevel marketers to illegally sell fraudulent investments in a bitcoin and foreign exchange (forex) pool.
Read more on the Mirror Trading Fraud Action Here.
As another busy week in the Finance Magnates newsroom draws to a close, let's take a look at the biggest stories from the Fintech, Forex and Crypto worlds, in our best of the week segment.
USGFX Enters into Voluntary Administration
Finance Magnates was the first to cover Union Standard International Group PTY LTD (USGFX) revealing that it entered into voluntary administration as of the 8th of July 2020.
According to the company, it has gone into voluntary administration to allow USGFX to restructure so that it can continue to provide financial services to its client. BRI Ferrier will be the administrator.
In its statement, the foreign exchange (forex) broker said that this move by the company has largely been forced by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), of which USGFX was regulated by.
Read more on the USGFX Voluntary Administration here.
Confirmed: Pepperstone is Seeking CySEC Licence as Part of Brexit Plan
Another exclusive revealed by Finance Magnates this week was Pepperstone, a foreign exchange (forex) broker headquartered in Australia, is in the process of securing a licence from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC),
In particular, Pepperstone has confirmed to Finance Magnates that it is in the process of securing a licence from the Cypriot regulator and that Victor Zachariades will be leading the new entity as the Director.
Currently, Pepperstone is regulated in Australia under the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), in the UK under the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), in the UAE with the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and in the Bahamas under the Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB).
Although the Australian-headquartered broker was not able to provide too many details at this time, the company did confirm that the new licence is part of Pepperstone’s Brexit plan.
Philippines SEC Calls Forsage a Pyramid Scheme, Warns Investors
As Finance Magnates reported this week the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned investors against the Forsage, the top decentralized application (DApp) on Ethreum Blockchain
Blockchain
Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp
Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp
Read this Term, calling it a pyramid scheme.
Forsage is the highest gas-consuming DApp on Ethreum blockchain, with 25 percent of the total, offering a “fully decentralized matrix marketing project.” However, the regulator urged investors against using the DApp, raising questions on its business model and also ordered the owner to officially register with the watchdog.
Read more on the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission Forsage Warning here.
BitClub Programmer Pleads Guilty for $722 Million Crypto Fraud
A 35-year old Romanian programmer has admitted his involvement in creating the BitClub Network, a fraudulent cryptocurrency mining scheme worth at least $722 million.
Announced on Thursday, the US attorney Craig Carpenito stated that Silviu Catalin Balaci was arrested in Germany and his guilty plea was taken by the US court via video conferencing.
The official filing detailed that the BitClub Network was a fraudulent scheme that solicited money from investors in exchange for shares of purported cryptocurrency mining pools and rewarded investors for recruiting new investors into the scheme. The fraudulent scheme ran from April 2014 through December 2019.
Read more on the BitClub Crypto Fraud here.
Head of Wirecard’s Dubai Operations Arrested in Germany
No week can be without its Wirecard drama instalment and this week was no different.
Munich prosecutors confirmed on Monday that former the head of a Dubai-based subsidiary of Wirecard, Cardsystems Middle East FZ-LLC, has been arrested on suspicion of aggravated fraud.
The unnamed executive turned himself in just after returning from Dubai and after a warrant for his arrest was issued. German media have identified him as Oliver Bellenhaus and he joins three other managers at Wirecard, including CEO Markus Braun. They remain under investigation in an accounting scandal that centres on a missing sum of $2.1 billion.
Read more on the latest Wirecard arrest here.
Interactive Brokers Forms New Singapore Entity
Interactive Brokers Group, a global online brokerage, has opened a new Singapore office by setting up a local entity – Interactive Brokers Singapore.
Announced on Wednesday, the move will enable the broker to offer Singapore-listed stocks to its local client as well as add them to its offerings of 135 markets in 33 other countries.
With the new Singapore office, Interactive Brokers has now officers in nine countries – the others are in the United States, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Luxembourg, and the United Kingdom.
Read more on the Interactive Brokers Singapore Move here.
Binance Buys Crypto Card Issuer Swipe for an “Undisclosed” Sum
As Finance Magnates reported, Binance, one of the leading digital currency exchanges, has announced on Tuesday the acquisition of Swipe, a crypto Payments
Payments
One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl
One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl
Read this Term platform, for an undisclosed amount.
Following the acquisition, the companies will work together to bring payments and purchases in cryptocurrency through traditional financial systems, thus bridging the gap between fiat and crypto.
Read more on the Binance Swipe Acquisition here.
Texas Securities Regulator Accuses Mirror Trading of Fraud
Texas Securities Commissioner Travis J. Iles entered an emergency action this week to stop Mirror Trading International PTY LTD, which the Commission states is a South African international, multilevel marketing get-rich-quick scheme.
In the action from Iles, the Commissioner also cites four of Mirror Trading International’s multilevel marketing agents, which Iles accused of illegally soliciting investors from Texas.
The order alleges that Mirror Trading is recruiting multilevel marketers to illegally sell fraudulent investments in a bitcoin and foreign exchange (forex) pool.
Read more on the Mirror Trading Fraud Action Here.
