BaFin Orders Vanuatu Broker Olympus Markets to Cease Activity

Vanuatu is a small country in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Comprised of a series of islands, some of the country’s inhabitants believe the queen of England’s husband, Prince Philip, is a god.

Others worship a legendary US soldier by the name of John Frum who, it is thought, will one day return to the island bringing with him food, clothing, and housing.

It’s this great nation that has become a Hub Hub A hub as its name suggests describes the center of activity or a focal point. In terms of finance, the term hub can refer to Hub and Spoke Trading or a liquidity hub. However, the terms are not interchangeable, but they do overlap. Hub and Spoke trading refer to a network that posts bids and offers for an asset and therefore creates a real market. For example, Hub and Spoke trading allow traders to see the other submissions and offers from other traders on the platform. This is a popular method A hub as its name suggests describes the center of activity or a focal point. In terms of finance, the term hub can refer to Hub and Spoke Trading or a liquidity hub. However, the terms are not interchangeable, but they do overlap. Hub and Spoke trading refer to a network that posts bids and offers for an asset and therefore creates a real market. For example, Hub and Spoke trading allow traders to see the other submissions and offers from other traders on the platform. This is a popular method Read this Term for the retail trading industry.

Unfortunately, some of the firms that have established themselves on its balmy, tropical shores are not the most scrupulous in their behavior.

One such firm is Olympus Markets. This Tuesday, the firm was ordered to cease activity in Germany by BaFin - the country's major financial regulator.

No withdrawals

A retail broker that purportedly offers trading in foreign Exchange Exchange An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv Read this Term and contracts for difference, Olympus Markets has an array of bad reviews.

Aside from those reviews, the broker’s own site has a list of terms and conditions that are - to put it politely - unusual.

High fees are put on top of any withdrawals and trades and any account that is left dormant for two months will be charged $200.

Descriptions of the site, written by users, indicate that it has all the trappings of a typical FX brokerage scam.

You deposit your cash, the broker tries to get you to deposit more, and when you ask to withdraw your money, they make excuses or cut off all contact with you.

“Never do business with [these] frauds, they are real frauds,” a user on forexbrokerz.com wrote.

“I lost over $6,500 in a month. They are really pushy to make deposits and when I asked for a withdrawal no one contacted me or bothered to help me to do it.”

Hopefully, BaFin’s warning will serve to keep traders away from Olympus Markets.

Otherwise, we can only hope that John Frum returns to Vanuatu and throws the company’s offices into the middle of the Pacific Ocean.