Canada OSC alerts public to overseas broker seeking investment
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), one of the thirteen provincial financial regulators in Canada, has added Status Markets to its list of companies not to do business with, according to a regulatory statement.
Status Markets is the latest entity to be added to the OSC warning list and follows a growing number of recent complaints regarding forex and binary options firms.
Representatives of this company contacted Ontario residents by telephone, seeking investment funds for the purpose of trading options online, said the regulator which also believes that Status Markets is operating out of Marshall Islands.
The website https://www.statusmarkets.com seems to be owned by the newly-blacklisted firm. It supposedly offers users the ability to trade in commodities, FX, and cryptocurrencies through options offered online. However, the firm is not registered in Ontario to trade securities or advise anyone with respect to investing in, buying, or selling securities.
How to check authorized brokers in Canada?
“Status Markets is soliciting Ontarians via telephone to invest in commodity options. Neither Status Markets or its representatives are registered in Ontario to solicit investments or provide advice on investing in, or buying or selling securities or commodities,” said the OSC.
A company’s registration status can be checked by using the Canadian Securities Administrators’ National Registration Search database at www.aretheyregistered.ca.
This is not the first time that Status Markets has been red-flagged for soliciting traders without regulatory permissions. Last year, the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) issued a warning against the same company for providing forex trading services in the province without having the required authorization.
In its capacity as one of Canada’s provincial regulators, OSC seeks to protect investors while promoting fair and efficient capital markets throughout the province. The regulator website provides information, tools, and resources for investors, including investor warnings about individuals and companies that appear to be engaging in unauthorized activities.
Earlier this year, two subsidiaries of Bloomberg L.P. agreed to pay more than $3 million to resolve Ontario watchdog’s allegations that they operated in Canada without proper authorization and allowed Ontarians to trade on their unregistered trading facilities.
Additionally, the Ontario Securities Commission accused Bloomberg Trading Facility Limited (BTFL) and Bloomberg Trading Facility B.V. (BV) of failure to provide accurate and complete information to regulators.
