Malaysia hits PSMTrade and Financial Binary with regulatory warnings
Malaysia’s financial regulator has backlisted yet another group of FX, binary options and cryptocurrency websites, citing their brands are not authorised to operate in the country.
Firstly, the Securities Commission (SC) said PSMTrade, and its associated brand Fouroption, are carrying out unlicensed capital market activities.
The watchdog has also sounded an alarm over yet another fraudulent firm, but this time is shedding light on a mix of a cryptocurrency and binary options scam. The SC, as part of its intensified market supervision, said on Monday that a company called Financial Binary is an unlicensed trading provider, cautioning all retail investors about the risks of dealing with it.
Financial Binary website claims to offer crypto and binaries investment plans, with returns ranging from 10 percent to 100 percent after 24 to 48 hours, which raises a red flag as far as investors are concerned.
As one would expect, sites such as Financial Binary operate as a High Yield Investment Program (HYIP) scheme where returns are always questionable, though they tend to dry up long before the original investment amount is repaid. The company provides no legitimate proof of payouts, and it is likely no one will ever see any money.
Elsewhere, the Securities Commission (SC) has also red-flagged a digital-asset investment firm called Global Pro Finance / Global Pro Trader and put the company on its caution list of unlicensed operators.
Binance also blacklisted
The watchdog advises its citizens not to make use of such services nor to make any investment with companies or individuals that are not approved or licensed by the SC.
The southeast Asian regulator issued a similar warning against Binance, FintechFX and other firms operating various investment services in the country. It said these platforms are not authorized to operate in the country nor subject to its regulatory oversight.
Anyone who engages in regulated activities without a valid license or registration from the SC is committing an offence under the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007. If convicted, they may be punished with imprisonment of up to ten years and fined.
Further, the new list includes offshore firms that offer payment and Fintech services, which comes at a time when Malaysia is bracing for the arrival of digital banks, with up to five licenses to be issued by the country’s central bank once the regulation for the industry is in place.
