FCA UK blacklists SVG-registered TurnFX

Unregulated Forex brokerage TurnFX has been added to the long warning list of the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. The firm has been recognized as an unauthorized financial services provider.

According to the official warning posted on Thursday the firm does not hold the proper license by the FCA for providing financial services to British traders and is operating outside the law.

The brokerage is registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines which has for quite some time been a favorite destination for shady brokerages due to the lenient laws regarding the registering of firms and the lack of regulatory control on online Forex trading. We also see an Estonian address which shouldn't surprise us because unregulated brokerages like Estonia as a “cover” location due to the country's reputation as an economically liberal country that has integrated crypto currencies within the regulatory framework.

The brokerage purports to provide the MetaTrader4 trading platform and extend clients an extremely high leverage of up to 1:500. Such a high leverage is the most characteristic sign of an unregulated brokerage and trading with it hides the risk of losing more than the initial deposit.

On the official warning issued by the Financial Conduct Authority we read that the British authorities suspect the brokerage of knowingly participating in investment scams. Traders are warned not to contract the services of TurnFX. Furthermore, we urge readers to only contract the services of regulated and legitimate brokerages which abide by the many rules set out by the ESMA guidelines which include the segregation of accounts and the participation in a financial compensatory scheme.

The FCA has provided traders with a consumer helpline and urges anyone that has been “cold called” or targeted in any way by representatives of TurnFX reach them on 0800 111 6768. UK's main financial regulator regularly updates its warning list and recommends traders always run a quick check on a brokerage on their online registry before investing funds with them.