ASIC is aware websites www.fxabs.com.au and www.fxabs.com are falsely claiming their services are regulated by ASIC and that they are linked to the Australian company Australia ABS Group Pty Ltd (Australia ABS Group).

Directors of Australia ABS Group have confirmed the websites are not associated with the company in any way.

In addition, the websites are offering CFD and margin FX services. While Australia ABS Group does have an Australian financial services (AFS) licence, it is not currently authorised to provide these types of services under that licence.

ASIC Commissioner Cathie Armour said, ‘This case again highlights the need for investors to be vigilant and do their research before signing up to trade financial products via a website. A simple check of ASIC’s registers would have shown that the entity being promoted on the websites is not adequately licensed to provide the products on offer.’

Background

Consumers can check if a company or individual is licensed by searching ASIC’s professional registers.

This work continues ASIC’s focus on AFSL compliance in the retail OTC derivative sector, including margin FX, CFDs and binary options.

Recent outcomes include:

• British Virgin Island company FIBO Group Limited (FIBO) and Cyprus company, Trading Point of Financial Instruments Limited (also known by the trading name XM.com) (Trading Point), agreeing to cease providing unlicensed financial services to Australians (refer: 15-233MR)
• suspending the AFS licence of Australian Capital Advisory Services Pty Ltd on the grounds it had ceased providing financial services after a change of control (refer: 15-217MR)
• following an investigation, Advanced Markets agreeing to change potential misleading statements on its website (refer: 15-085MR)
• following an investigation, suspending the AFS licence of FX provider AGM Markets Pty Ltd (AGM) (refer: 15-075MR)
• warning investors not to deal with Grandegoldens (refer: 15-066MR). It is not licensed to trade in margin FX in Australia.
• cancelling Enfinium’s AFS licence because, among other things, concerns around inadequate risk management systems (refer: 15-026MR)
• following a surveillance, Calibre Investment changed the way it offers FX services to retail clients (refer: 14-327MR)
• restraining Monarch FX and its former director and general manager, Quinten Hunter, from carrying on a financial services business (refer: 14-342MR)
• shutting down Vault Market and removing its sole director, Mr MD Anamul Amin, from the financial services industry (refer: 14-309MR)
• warning investors not to deal with YoutradeFX (refer: 14-306MR). It is not licensed to trade in margin FX in Australia
• Pepperstone agreeing to stop providing financial services in Japan following inquiries by ASIC that revealed they were not licensed by the Japanese Financial Services Agency (refer: 14-267MR)
• cancelling the AFS licence of online FX broker Global Derivative Services after an investigation found it failed to comply with a number of its licence obligations (refer: 14-226MR)

Editor's note:

This media release was edited on 23 September 2015 to include that www.fxabs.com is also falsely claiming its services are regulated by ASIC and that it is linked to the Australian company Australia ABS Group Pty Ltd (Australia ABS Group).