In a noteworthy development within the financial brokerage industry, the notorious offshore broker Alpari and former CySEC-regulated ForexTime (FXTM), not less notorious, have officially withdrawn their membership from the Financial Commission. This decision underscores a broader trend among forex brokers reassessing their market focus and priorities.
We last reported on the Financial Commission in reviewing the unauthorized offshore broker AMarkets. This broker claims on its website that they are a member of the Financial Commission. Furthermore, AMarkets clients would be protected by the Financial Commission's "Compensation Fund for up to €20,000 per trade claim." However, the Financial Commission is neither a regulator nor does it provide an investor compensation fund.
Opoforex is an unregulated offshore broker operated by Opo Group LLC, registered in SVG. The offshore entity was incorporated in Feb 2021 by corporate builder Wilfred Services Ltd. Opoforex is a member of the The Financial Commission, a private dispute resolution organization. The website of the offshore broker states that it would be authorized in SVG for investment services. This is not true. The FSA VSG has clarified in Feb 2022 that it does not regulate or authorize forex or CFD brokers. Opoforex has not authorization to offer its services in Europe or other regulatory regimes.
On 8 March 2022, the Financial Commission announced that it had approved DegerFX as a member. In our review, we found that DegerFX primarily addresses a Turkish audience. Additionally, the broker operates its platform in English. However, the boiler room seems to reside in Montenegro. DegerFX LLC, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, is the operator of the unregulated broker scheme. The broker is not authorized to operate in the UK, Europe, or other regulatory regimes. We advise staying away from unregulated offshore brokers.