FCA Flags IC Markets for Offering Services in UK

The British financial market supervisor, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has flagged IC Markets, a big retail brokerage brand headquartered in Australia, for offering services in the United Kingdom without the necessary authorization.

“We believe this firm may be providing financial services or products in the UK without our authorization,” the regulator stated on the warning issued on Monday.

“This firm is not authorized by us and is targeting people in the UK. You will not have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), so you are unlikely to get your money back if things go wrong.”

A Reputed Broker Otherwise

Founded in 2007, IC Markets licensed in multiple jurisdictions including Australia, Cyprus, Seychelles, and the Bahamas. But, it is not licensed or registered in the United Kingdom with the FCA, which has become mandatory after the closure of
 
 Brexit 
.

For its operations within the European Economic Area (EEA), the broker is passporting its license obtained from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (
 
 CySEC 
).

“Almost all firms and individuals offering, promoting, or selling financial services or products in the UK have to be authorized or registered by us,” the FCA added in the warning.

The British agency has also shared two telephone numbers, eight email addresses, and a few sub-domains that are possibly related to IC Markets to warn the traders against the ‘unauthorized’ retail broker platform.

Finance Magnates reached out to IC Markets for their take on the warning but did not receive any response as of press time.

With operations across most of the top jurisdictions, IC Markets is one of the very few brokers recording more than $1 trillion in monthly trading volume. It is also expanding its brand presence across Europe by sponsoring multiple sports clubs, a strategy followed by many other top brokerages.

The British financial market supervisor, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has flagged IC Markets, a big retail brokerage brand headquartered in Australia, for offering services in the United Kingdom without the necessary authorization.

“We believe this firm may be providing financial services or products in the UK without our authorization,” the regulator stated on the warning issued on Monday.

“This firm is not authorized by us and is targeting people in the UK. You will not have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), so you are unlikely to get your money back if things go wrong.”

A Reputed Broker Otherwise

Founded in 2007, IC Markets licensed in multiple jurisdictions including Australia, Cyprus, Seychelles, and the Bahamas. But, it is not licensed or registered in the United Kingdom with the FCA, which has become mandatory after the closure of
 
 Brexit 
.

For its operations within the European Economic Area (EEA), the broker is passporting its license obtained from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (
 
 CySEC 
).

“Almost all firms and individuals offering, promoting, or selling financial services or products in the UK have to be authorized or registered by us,” the FCA added in the warning.

The British agency has also shared two telephone numbers, eight email addresses, and a few sub-domains that are possibly related to IC Markets to warn the traders against the ‘unauthorized’ retail broker platform.

Finance Magnates reached out to IC Markets for their take on the warning but did not receive any response as of press time.

With operations across most of the top jurisdictions, IC Markets is one of the very few brokers recording more than $1 trillion in monthly trading volume. It is also expanding its brand presence across Europe by sponsoring multiple sports clubs, a strategy followed by many other top brokerages.

Source: https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/brokers/fca-flags-ic-markets-for-offering-unauthorized-services-in-uk/