Canada’s CSA labels Financial Commission (and others) as “fake regulatory / dispute resolution organization”
In a fairly strongly worded statement, Canada’s umbrella organization of provincial securities regulators The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) has issued a warning about purported crypto trading service providers that are claiming to be authorized or affiliated with fictitious regulatory or dispute resolution organizations.
The CSA added that any entity claiming to be approved by or a member of these organizations is likely fraudulent.
Among the fake regulatory or dispute resolution organizations listed by the CSA is a name some in the FX and CFDs industry will recognize, called the Financial Commission, or Finacom PLC Ltd. The Financial Commission, at website financialcommission.org, calls itself the “first of its kind independent external dispute resolution body dedicated specifically to Forex that ensures that traders are getting their disputes resolved in a quick, efficient, unbiased and authentic manner.”
The Financial Commission’s list of “Our Team” people include Chief Operating Officer Nick Isayev, whose LinkedIn profile (Nikolai Isayev) also lists him as Chief Operating Officer and Editor-in-Chief of FinanceFeeds; and Board Member Michael Greenberg, who runs the FinanceMagnates and Ultimate Fintech organizations.
The CSA stated that in an effort to appear legitimate, the purported trading service providers claim they are certified by a fictitious authority or that they are members of a dispute resolution organization. One of them says its fictitious certification makes it “a reliable and trustable online trading platform.” Some of the purported trading services’ websites include links to these fake regulatory or dispute resolution organizations, which have their own websites.
The list of fake regulatory or dispute resolution organizations named by the CSA includes:
- Financial Standard Commission FSC Canada
- Financial Commission/Finacom PLC Ltd.
- Blockchain Association
- European Financial Services and Exchange Commission
- Crypto Conduct Authority/Crypto Frugal Ltd. (Ireland)
- Crypto Conduct Authority/Crypto Frugal Ltd. (U.K.)
- International Regulatory & Brokerage E-markets
- British Investment Commission/BIC PLC Ltd.
- International Financial Market Supervisory Authority
- Crypto Commission Authority/Crypto Commission Ltd.
The CSA noted that the websites of these fake regulators / dispute resolution organizations appear to be credible at first glance, with references to complaint processing, dispute resolution and providing redress to aggrieved investors. The addresses make reference to real locations, such as Canary Wharf in London or Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires. But upon closer inspection, the websites’ language can be awkward and unpolished, with errors in spelling, grammar or syntax – a common “red flag” of illegitimate entities.
According to the CSA investors, especially those investing in crypto, should know that:
- None of the above organizations are known regulators or established dispute resolution organizations, and any entity claiming to be approved by or a member of those organizations is likely fraudulent.
- The fake organizational names listed above are only those that the CSA has identified so far, and other fake names with similar intent could appear at any time.
- Many national regulatory agencies and self-regulatory organizations of the investment market are members (either ordinary members, associate members, or affiliate members) of the International Organization of Securities Commissions, a legitimate organization that includes several CSA members.
Anyone considering using a crypto firm that claims to be certified or a member of a dispute resolution organization should try to independently verify that the referenced organization actually exists. The CSA advised to not just rely on the organization’s website – check to see if the organization is mentioned in news articles or is referenced by other well-known entities.
In addition, anyone considering investing in crypto assets should consult the list of crypto trading platforms that are registered with the CSA and learn the fundamentals of crypto assets. While regulatory oversight plays an important role in investor protection, these measures cannot eliminate all risks associated with trading in crypto assets, including significant and rapid price swings.
The CSA, the council of the securities regulators of Canada’s provinces and territories, co-ordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets.
The CSA’s full statement regarding fake regulators and dispute resolution organizations can be seen here.
June 22, 2023 @ 8:36 am
‘Real’ regulators can do better?
They allowed Wirecard to steal millions in Germany, have allowed bank collapse after bank collapse with the public left to pick up the cost after nationalization. They have allowed people like Bankman-Fried to be responsible officers of firms, only to steal all the money and get away with it.
FX rate fixing, insider dealing, financial crises caused by irresponsible lending… you name it., the ‘regulators’ allow it, all the while trying to stop challenger banks because they’re in bed with the old school tie brigade on Wall Street (and other financial centers).
Not only that, but the so-called benchmark for regulatory oversight, the SEC and CFTC are administered by political senators. Corrupt is an understatement.
Lastly, Canadian regulator? Does anyone listen to anything Canadian? That is a nation whose prime minister water cannoned its own citizens for talking to their friends, dragged elderly people by their feet just for sitting on a park bench, and when the public protested to try to save their livelihoods, the government froze their bank accounts. I would not trust Canadian authorities with $1!
Decentralization and moving away from the big government is the best use of our technology and resources.
June 22, 2023 @ 10:18 am
just because government regulators suck doesn’t mean you can hold yourself out as a regulator, while really running a for profit business. FinaCom and anyone associated with it should be held accountable.
June 22, 2023 @ 12:49 pm
Accountable for what exactly?
I speak from an impartial standpoint here.
Most ‘regulators’ are no different at all, and in many cases have an awful track record of corruption, taking money and levies and then allowing all kinds of crimes to take place under their noses, the cost of which gets transferred to the taxpayer.
A lot of backscratching happens too aside from what I mentioned in my first comment. Do you not think that when Plus500 listed in the UK, the spread betting firms didn’t lobby the FCA to see them off just to protect their business against a company that was clearly far more efficient?
That’s just one example. And as for Canada… well – my previous comments on the way its authorities treat its citizens should be enough not to take it seriously.
The question is, what should Finacom be held accountable for?
Surely the chastisement of regulators should be applied to all, official or otherwise?
I think it’s time the fintech business stopped kowtowing to government authorities which ultimately want them out of the way because them and the banks are in it together. The trail of destruction presided over by the authorities and regulators over the past 15 years even after very costly overhauls is enough to realize they are either incompetent or highly corrupt.
Perhaps this is more relevant – the two entities mentioned in this article are owners of rival businesses to this publication.
June 26, 2023 @ 11:26 pm
Totally agree asic in Australia is exactly the same , they have never had the interests of the public at heart and like political institutions in Australia corruption runs deep, I make sure that my trading accounts are as far away from these corrupt incompetents as possible, I think that you are correct, decentralisation of personal assets is the answer, tho these governments will fight tooth and nail for control.
June 27, 2023 @ 10:03 am
You both @Andrew Saks, @Island trader are totally missing the point here.
Not going to argue with either of you about your antigovernment manifestos. Even if you’re right, that doesn’t make it right for someone to set up a fake regulator website and start handing out fake credentials, selling credibility to crappy brokers as a for-profit business.