Going offshore to escape the CFTC

Broker Discussion Forex Brokers
2315

More odds and ends —

Hi, guys. I will add references to your posts (#2144 and #2147) to the PellucidFX listing.

Obviously, this broker deserves to be watched carefully.

bsby0613, I’m glad to hear that your experience with Forex Broker Inc has been good.

Regarding the Forex Magnates news item, it still has not been posted on their website. However, I checked the MFSA website, and found this — Malta Financial Services Authority — If you click on “English”, you can download a brief (2 page) .pdf of the MFSA warning.

Apparently, MFSA is simply alerting the public to the fact that the brokers in this warning are not domiciled, registered, or regulated in Malta.

Forex Broker Inc is the only broker in this warning which appears in Group 1 of our List. We have them listed as domiciled in Malta, but a check of their website reveals this —

Registered Address of Head Office

Suite 102, Corner Eyre Hudson, Belize City, Belize

Telephone Numbers:

Malta Satellite Office: +356 3550 0072

When I update the List, I will change the listing for Forex Broker Inc from Malta to Belize, and place them under the “Central America / Caribbean” heading.

Contrary to the Forex Magnates news snippet, only 4 brokers are involved in this warning, not 5 as reported. Aside from Forex Broker Inc (in Group 1 of our List), the only other broker in the MFSA warning which appears on our List is Forex Club (in Group 2), which we list as domiciled in the British Virgin Islands.

I’m glad you find it to be useful.

For anyone else who’s interested, here’s a link to Forex Magnates.

Thanks for the heads-up. FXtradeweb does look good. I will add them to Group 1 of our List at the next update (tomorrow probably).

By the way, this broker caters to beginner traders, as well as high-net-worth traders. And they do have micro accounts.

Forex Magnates posted some NEWS about FXtradeweb two days ago.

Hello Bear,

I’m not sure whether you’re aware of this, but PaxForex is already in Group 1 of our List.

2316

The LIST has been updated.

2317

The [I]Broker Aid Station[/I] forum, here on the Babypips site, now lists 24 brokers who have official representatives on the forum to dispense information and answer questions.

We have already vetted 19 of those 24 brokers: one (Forex Metal) is in Group 1 of our List, 15 of them are in Group 2 of our List, and 3 of them (FXCM, FXDD, and BeamFX) are U.S. brokers.

That leaves 5 brokers which we have not previously vetted. Over the weekend, I looked into those five brokers, and found that [B]not one of them will accept U.S. clients.[/B] The 5 are:

Global Prime (Australia)

Admiral Markets (Estonia)

XGlobal Markets (Cyprus)

FxNet Ltd (Cyprus)

Direct FX Trading PTY LTD (Australia)

I hate to see Group 2 grow larger, but U.S. members of the Babypips Forum need to know the facts.

So, later today, I will add these five to Group 2 of our List.

[B]Note:[/B] the broker identified as [B]TradingForex[/B] in the [I]Broker Aid Station[/I] forum is [B]Traders Trust (Cyprus),[/B] already in Group 2 of our List.

Edit: this update has been done

2318

I must have missed it, thanks for pointing it out.

2319

Hi Clint,

In May of this year, FXCM acquired FXDD’s US accounts as they no longer offer trading in the US.

2320

We expose Forex Metal and owner VLADISLAV KOGAN (Born 1973, living in Sydney, Australia) in this Video: youtube.com/watch?v=SMruhPTsXBY

(To read all details, PAUSE THE VIDEO often.)
00:00 Our story
00:21 Forex Metal web site
00:25 Victims
02.54 Forex Conclusions review
03:31 How Forex Metal describes itself
04:35 Who they really are
04:38 Photos and the Truth about their Century Tower address
05:32 Panama’s SMV (Superindencia de Mercado de Valores) listing of authorized Forex brokers and September 1, 2011 law requiring government licensing
05:51 More on their fraudulent address
05:58 Their Credit Card
06:11 Employee Names and some Marketing Sites
06:43 Bank of New Zealand wire transfer
07:01 Owner VLADISLAV KOGAN
07:16 Details of his many corporations, starting with New Zealand
08:35 Photos of his old residential address (apartment building)
08:56 Photos of his recent residential address ($2.2 Million AUD home)
09:49 Domain Names, and Cross Relationships linking names and corporations
10:58 Corporations since 2001 and more victims (Calobar LLC, Credit Alliance SA, Dunboyne Investment SA, e-ForexGold, FM Financial Services Ltd, FM Financial Solutions Inc, Forex Metal (Australia), Forex-Metal Exchange Services Inc, Forex Metal Exchange Services UK Ltd, Forex Metal Holdings Limited, Forex-Metal Limited SA, FX Index Limited, FX Index Pty Ltd, FX Index PTY Ltd, FX Markets PTE Ltd)
14:06 Aliom Trading not compliant with ASIC (Australian Securities & Investments Commission), revoking most of its representatives, including VLADISLAV KOGAN
14:47 VLADISLAV KOGAN still claims Forex Metal (Australia) operates under Aliom’s License
15:02 Targets Binary Trading and India Forex markets
15:14 Forex Metal in 2014
15:31 In Conclusion
15:45 Research & Web Links, including Timeline (2001-2014), Corporations at a Glance, Domain Cross Relationships, Forums that Forex Metal Markets to, and Forums to Contact
16:57 Recent Updates
17:42 Updates and more to be listed under video “Description”

We will post this info at many popular trading forums (complete list under video); many already have posts on Forex Metal.

Where possible, we will start a new thread “Forex Metal Ripped Us Off!” for victimized traders to post comments.
To warn other unsuspecting traders, we will also post in the most viewed relevant threads.
Search “Forex Metal” for specific threads until we list them under Video Description.

We suspect Forex Metal created several personalities or used its affiliates either to say what a great broker they are or to market promotions, or both. Usually details are vague. Click on the names; often all their posts talk more about Forex Metal than actual trading.

We apologize for any repetition, but VLADISLAV KOGAN must be stopped from ripping off traders.

Rather than reposting at every site, WE WILL POST THE LATEST UPDATES AND LINKS IN ONE PLACE, UNDER THE VIDEO’S “DESCRIPTION.”

Please post your personal stories in this forum, and ALSO under the VIDEO’S “COMMENTS.”
This way, you have a record of your post at each forum and well as at one CENTRAL LOCATION for ALL traders to share comments.

A fellow trader that produces many videos exposing Forex, binary trading, and other financial scams has also created videos about Forex Metal:
Forex Metal - Avoid this Broker:


Forex Metal - This Broker is a Scam, BEWARE:

Forex Metal - Use this Currency Broker and Feel the Pain:

He also recommends that victims create and post their own videos (Ezvideo.com is free and simple), and include a link to our detailed video.

VLADISLAV KOGAN is Forex-Metal Payments Department at payments(at)forex-metal.com
Traders, let him know what you think of Forex-Metal.

If VLADISLAV KOGAN eventually returns ALL of our funds, we will post that information in the future.

Traders, thank you all for your time, as well as any additional help or information you may offer.

2321

Excellent updates. I was going to post a similar review over Malta Regulations and the warnings, but for some reason I could not post anything at all, problems aside.

I have been with [B]Forex Broker Inc[/B] for about a month now. In short, no problems at all. Sign up was immediate, deposits are quick and so far nothing of concern. I have yet to withdraw as it is the main point of broker reputation. A thing to point out, there are constant price gaps that have to be refreshed in MetaTrader 4 manually and in some cases they do not display correctly. Spreads aren’t great on the crosses either, scalpers have to look elsewhere. So far not a bad broker.

I also have contacted them over the warnings issued from MFSA and received a response…

Dear Investor,

In regards to your query, we will check with the Higher Management and with our Legal Department and we will get back to you with more information as soon as possible.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Kind regards,
Complaints Department

From: [I]foretradex[/I]
Subject: When you were offline (via LivePerson)
To: forexbrokerinc <[email protected]>

There is recent news over the MFSA issuing a warning to several brokers including Forex Brokers Inc. about not being regulated.

Malta Financial Services Authority

As a client of yours, I would like to know more over this concern and what is there to do as a current trader. Thank You.

We’ll see what happens from here. Perhaps the trading side of things, they seem great but I also care how my personal information is/will be handled as non-regulated broker.

2322

About FXtradeweb, sounds and looks promising. But according to the co-founder Rohit Mirpuri’s own words…

Our plans are to attain the full FCA license in the UK, which is being processed shortly, and eventually move our headquarters to London.

Don’t FCA regulation enforce the non acceptance of U.S. clients? All brokers regulated by FCA strictly reject U.S. citizens, so not sure how this will play out in the future.

2323

Thanks, Jason. I was aware of that.

I mentioned [B]FXDD[/B] only because they are still listed as one of the brokers in the [I]Broker Aid Station[/I] forum, and I was trying to account for our vetting of all 24 of the broker names there.

[B]FXDD[/B] should be removed from that forum.

That video is an eye-opener.

We have urged caution regarding [B]Forex Metal,[/B] from the time they were first added to our List.

Specifically, the research done by [I]Gypsy Trader[/I] (and posted HERE, HERE, and HERE) alerted us to some of the apparent “irregularities” with this broker. His posts have been referenced in the [B]Forex Metal[/B] listing since April 2012.

Certain parts of your video mirror portions of [I]Gypsy Trader’s[/I] reporting.

For now, I’m going to leave [B]Forex Meta[/B]l on our List. However, I will place a serious warning (and a reference to your post) in their listing.

By the way, you were not able to post a link to your [I]youtube[/I] video, so I’ll do it for you —

Thanks for this info. When [B]Forex Broker Inc[/B] gives you a more specific explanation of this issue, please share it with us here.

Good point. We should watch this situation carefully.

I’ll add a reference to your post in the listing for [B]FXtradeweb.[/B]

2324

And the bad news just keeps coming —

US Forex Credit Card Ban Set to Become Law as NFA Approves Measure | Forex Magnates

2325

It’s more and more important now for people to setup a residency outside the USA. That’s the only way to establish a proper derivatives trading career. It takes a little effort, but it seems to be the only long term solution.

2326

I was confused by this also so shot them an email - they said that the UK company would operate as a separate legal entity, and clients would have the option to move their account in the future if they wanted to - all good I suppose as it gives traders from different parts of the world options

2327

Makes sense to me. — Thanks for this update.

I will add a reference to your post (#2163) to our [B]FXtradeweb[/B] listing.

2328

Hello everyone,

Any more info from people who have used fxtradeweb.com ? I’ve searched for user reviews online but I have not found anything or any information about them. Would you trust them with a deposit? Their minimum is $1K.

2329

Clint and thread contributors,

Thank you very much for maintaining this thread. It’s a real gem. I was wondering if anyone here knows of a website that gives US citizens a good idea of what is required at the bare minimum to open up an account with a non-US broker regulated by the CFTC/NFA. I understand that involves some level of international property ownership, but that’s the extent of my knowledge on this topic. Any help would be much appreciated.

Best

2330

Some advice was given earlier on this thread how to establish non-US residency to continue your trading career. See 301 Moved Permanently and follow the links there to gain more insight.

2331

Does anyone here know how to jump from one post to another? There are posts referenced on the first page regarding due diligence with brokers but I don’t know how to jump straight to a particular post. Can anyone help?

Thanks.

2332

There’s no way (that I know of) to make that jump.

A [B]link[/B] to each of those posts would be required, and quite frankly when I started adding those post references to the List, I took the easy way out and just added post numbers, instead of working links.

I’m aware of the nuisance this creates. Several times, I have tried to reread some of the posts referenced in the List, and I’ve had the same problem you’re having — you have to guess at the page number where the post appears, and then you have to navigate to that page (which is a major pain in the butt).

I did a quick count of the number of posts referenced in the List, and counted 73 of them. I’m mulling over how much time would be involved in converting each of those “dead” references to “live” links.

I’m not promising anything — but, I’ll think about doing that.

2333

At the bottom of pages 1 and 2 of the List, I have added [B]links[/B] (arranged in numerical order) to all of the posts referenced on those pages. I hope that this addition to the List makes it a little easier to navigate to the referenced posts.

2334

The link posted here has the number 218 at the end…
hxxp://forums.babypips.com/forex-brokers/36221-going-offshore-escape-cftc-218.html

The post number of [B][I]this[/I][/B] precise comment is 2171. So by eliminating the 4th digit, leaves 217. After this, you round up the third number 7 to 8, so 218. So it runs from 1-10, not from 0-9. Just edit the number on url accordingly.