It’s another day, which means, dear reader, that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ) has released more warnings about FX brokers operating on the UK’s regal shores without the proper regulatory approval. The British regulator confirmed yesterday that Forex Grand and Broker XP have been operating in the UK without its authorization.
It has been a busy month for the illicit FX brokerage industry. So many firms have popped up on the FCA’s radar that the regulator has had to issue near-daily warnings, often issuing several a day.
The first to be listed on the regulator’s warning list yesterday was Broker XP. The firm shares an address in the Marshall Islands, that hub of business activity, with another unregulated broker, Stratx Markets.
Broker XP purports to have a Scottish office and lists it quite openly on its website. According to Companies House, the UK’s registrar of companies, this office, which appears to be comprised of one room, is also used by over 500 other companies. Unless it's one very big room, or the various employees of these 500 companies don’t mind working in an office akin to a cattle-car, the chances are Broker XP has no presence in the UK at all.
An inspiring story
The other broker added to yesterday’s warning is Forex Grand, which shares an address in the Marshall Islands with Broker XP. This author does not recommend trading with Forex Grand, but it is certainly worth visiting their website for your amusement.
The owner of the company calls himself Grand, and he even has a cartoon picture of himself, complete with Victorian mustache, which demonstrates his pristine origins. The best part, however, is the ‘about me’ section, written in Borat-esque English, in which Grand claims that he descends from a long line of distinguished figures, all of whom worked for the East India Company as accountants. This is what inspired him to move to the Marshall Islands and start life as an FX broker.
As this author’s father happens to be an accountant, I can confirm that it is indeed a noble profession but that it has yet to inspire me to open an unregulated FX brokerage. That may be because, to the best of my knowledge, none of my ancestors worked for the East India Company. After I’ve finished this article, I’ll be sure to start putting together my family tree. Who knows, perhaps in the future, Grand and I shall be working hand-in-hand.
