The Financial Commission, an independent self-regulatory compliance specialist for the financial services industry, has permanently expelled forex brokerage StarfishFX from its membership, according to a FinaCom statement.
The membership status of StarfishFX was terminated following a breach of contractual obligations, the self-regulator explains.
Starfish FX is managed under the group Starfish Markets Ltd., which is a multi-asset brokerage firm that offers trading of currencies, binary options, CFDs, and commodities. The group operates out of its main office in New Zealand under the regulatory jurisdiction of Vanuatu in Oceania.
StarfishFX was expelled from the Financial Commission effective October 2018. The move was taken due to failure to adhere to membership rules and after it was given numerous opportunities to rectify its shortfalls.
As such, the commission noted that it will not be able to process any new complaints from StarfishFX clients, following its expulsion from its roster as of the date of this announcement and moving forward, or until membership is approved again.
FinaCom Doesn’t Process Complaints vs. Non-Members
StarfishFX was a Category A member of the Financial Commission. Traders of a company with this category membership can be eligible for compensation of up to €20,000 per complaint, as well as having access to all dispute resolution services offered by the Commission. All clients of member companies are protected by the Compensation Fund, which acts as an insurance policy.
In cases when complaints are filed against a member firm, the Financial Commission uses a proven method to process complaints and a decision is delivered by the Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC). The Financial Commission cannot process complaints against non-members, and no further action is taken.
The Financial Commission has been actively expanding its list of members in recent months. The expulsion of StarfishFX from membership is an important step as it adds credibility to the Financial Commission and encourages companies that are already members to adhere to the highest standards of operation.
In addition to providing dispute resolution and certification services to the participants of the Forex and derivatives markets, Financial Commission recently extended its coverage to the crypto community and Blockchain startups seeking to launch initial coin offerings (ICOs).
