Do not invest more money than you can afford to lose.
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has added forex broker Sumo Forex and binary options broker Depix Holdings, operating under the trade name LBinary, to its warning list of companies that have not been authorized to provide their services in Ontario, two separate notices issued on Friday on the commission’s website indicated.
Neither of the two brokers has been registered in Canada’s Ontario for security trading or advertising such services to Ontario citizens, the OSC said.
Our research showed Depix Holdings is a subsidiary of Sumo Forex.
In Canada, the forex and binary options markets fall under the regulation of provincial watchdogs and legislation rules may vary in the different provinces. The OSC is in charge of the capital markets in Ontario – Canada’s largest province by population. It maintains a warning list of companies that have not been authorized to operate in the province, currently consisting of 199 entities and individuals.
A company’s inclusion does not necessarily mean the OSC has made a finding on it. It means, however, that the company has been providing its services on the territory of Ontario withouth having the proper authorization. Another scenario where companies are entered into the OSC’s Warning List is when they offer securities without a prospectus, as the local regulation requires.
LBinary is baded in Cuprus’ Lomassol and operates via the website www.lbinary.com. On its website, the broker says it offers trading of binary options on currencies, commodities, indices, and stocks via the LBinary proprietary web-based trading platform. The broker provides no data on its website regarding regulation or licensing.
New Zealand-registered Sumo Forex is an online EXN forex broker that offers its services via www.sumoforex.com. It says it is regulated by the Financial Service Providers Register (FSPR), New Zealand’s registrar for investment companies. Indeed, FSPRA data shows the company was entered into the register in November 2014 and it operates via the trading name Binarytilt. However, if a broker is included into the FSPR, that does not necessarily mean it is licensed or regulated in New Zealand.
BinaryViper
It would be great if you could provide a link to the actual list with the 199 warnings because I could not find it. It’s not the first time Lbinary breaks the local rules. It seems like Sumo Forex is quickly trying to expand its services. It’s a good thing Canada is prepared for aggressively expanding brokers.
Juana Wells
Hello BinaryViper,
You can see a list of all entities in the OSC’s warning list on the commission’s website. The included entities can be displayed by name (starting with the first letter of the entity’s name) or by date (starting with the last added). Since LBinary is a trade brand and not an entity, is has been included as Depix Holdings, which was added on 22 January, 2016.
Here is a link to the warning list: http://www.osc.gov.on.ca/en/Investors_warning-list_index.htm
Best,
the SMN Weekly team
BinaryViper
Very helpful. Thank you.