Belgium’s FSMA receives 998 notifications about illegal financial services in 2018

Maria Nikolova

The bulk of these enquiries concerned cryptocurrency-related fraud and pyramid schemes.

Belgium’s Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) has earlier today published its Annual Report for 2018, with the number of enquiries handled by the regulator growing compared to the preceding year.

In 2018, FSMA received 2,066 consumer notifications related to financial services matters. This is 20% higher than in 2017, when the regulator received 1,710 questions and complaints. Nearly half (998) of all such enquiries in 2018 concerned fraudulent schemes and illegal offers of financial products and services. They concerned mainly cryptocurrencies and pyramid schemes.

FSMA has also continued to receive notifications about binary options and CFDs but their number has declined. Let’s recall that since 2016, Belgium has prohibited the marketing of CFDs and binary options to consumers. This was before ESMA introduced its product intervention measures.

In 2018, the Belgian regulator received 334 enquiries and complaints related to cryptocurrencies. The sum of declared losses related to such fraud last year was EUR 4.5 million but that, of course, is just the tip of the iceberg as the bulk of such losses are not reported.

Belgium’s FSMA started compiling a “blacklist” of fraudulent cryptocurrency websites in February 2018. The FSMA noted back then that it received numerous complaints about trading platforms that claim to be active in the cryptocurrency sector. Consumers who have invested in them complain that they are unable to recover the funds invested, or that they simply have heard nothing further from the company with which they invested their money. In the end of 2018, the “blacklist” included 113 websites.

Read this next

Retail FX

Banxso announces 8.7% interest rate on deposits in South Africa

“With Banxso, they can enjoy the benefits of both worlds – earning competitive interest and having the freedom to trade, all within the same platform.”

Industry News

FINRA to publish transaction details in U.S. Treasury securities

“Consistent with our longstanding practice, FINRA is introducing greater transparency in a calibrated and careful manner, benefiting liquidity and resilience in this critical market while also mitigating potential information leakage concerns.”

Institutional FX

OpenYield launches “cheap and easy” fixed income trading for brokers

“We’re on a mission to make bonds cheap and easy to trade, and are excited about the opportunity to build generational capital markets infrastructure.”

Digital Assets

Sumsub and Mercuryo publish a guide for VASPs: “Mastering Travel Rule Compliance”

“At Sumsub, we’ve concentrated our efforts on filling the gap in understanding the complexity of Travel Rule regulation and helping organizations find the best solution to stay safe and compliant while minimizing costs and avoiding potential risks of non-compliance. This guide we created with Mercuryo, our trusted partner, is the ultimate navigation tool all VASPs can consult.”

Digital Assets

Bitget Wallet Leads with Record Swap Volume & New Crypto Innovations

This week, Bitget Wallet achieved a milestone by surpassing Metamask with a record 388,757 Swap order transactions, securing the global lead. The significant 7-day trading volume, almost 68,000 more than its rival, underscores its liquidity and user trust. This robust activity signals Bitget Wallet’s prominent role and reliability in the dynamic crypto market.

Digital Assets

Embarking on a Digital Currency Journey

Imagine you’ve stumbled upon a treasure map, leading you to untold riches hidden in the vastness of the internet. Instead of gold coins and jewel-encrusted goblets, this treasure comes in the form of digital currencies, the modern-day loot coveted by many.

Reviews

Traders Union Experts Share The Trading Analyst Review For 2024

Navigating options trading in rapidly shifting markets poses a considerable challenge. This is where options trading alert services become invaluable. They aid traders in keeping abreast of evolving opportunities and market trends. In this assessment, Traders Union experts scrutinize The Trading Analyst alert service to ascertain its efficacy. 

Digital Assets

BlockDAG’s Presale Achieves $9.9M: Aiming For A 5000-Fold ROI As Cardano’s Price Rises And Fantom Launches Sonic

Explore Cardano’s surge, Sonic’s efficiency, and why BlockDAG’s growth makes it the top crypto choice. A deep dive into the future of blockchain investments.

Digital Assets

US, UK probe $20 billion Tether transfers tied to Russian exchange.

U.S. and UK authorities are investigating the movement of $20 billion in the USD-pegged stablecoin tether (USDT) through Moscow-based exchange Garantex.

<