HBC Broker is the latest non-regulated forex brokerage that is flagged by ASIC
Another day another scam. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission better known as ASIC has finally updated its broker blacklist this past Tuesday. HBC Broker, additionally known as MPG Invest Limited has been scamming investors since they began operating back in 2016. After receiving enough complaints pertaining to their dubious and illegal business practices the Australian regulator decided that enough was enough and put them on their extensive broker blacklist.
The Australian regulator mentioned that HBC Broker does not possess an existing Australian Financial Services (AFS) license or an Australian Credit license from ASIC to offer financial services in Australia. It stressed that they could be involved in a scam.
HBC Broker – False Location, False Registration & False Regulation
Ironically, HBC Broker stands for “Honest Brokers Collaboration.” That quite honestly is the furthest thing from the truth. The fact that the company needs to state that they are honest raises quite a number of red flags. First off, they claim that they are headquartered in Armenia, 5 Shovroyan St, Yerevan, Armenia to be exact. However, upon further research, there is no office located in that location, just an empty building.
Secondly, the broker claims they started operating in 2010. A simple fact check on the website who.is says otherwise. In reality, the website was registered on 2016-03-07.
Thirdly, on the footer of the website, it says that HBC Broker is a “trading name of Trading Point Holdings LTD”, which is regulated by ASIC, FSP (New Zealand), CySEC, FCA and the MiFID.
However, Trading Point Holdings has no relation whatsoever to HBC Broker. In fact, Trading Point Holdings owns XM, which has all of these aforementioned regulations. If one looks at HBC’s Terms and Conditions one will see that the parent company is MPG Invest Limited.
United Kingdom’s FCA Already Outlawed HBC Broker
ASIC isn’t the first regulator to warn against HBC Broker/MPG Invest Limited. Last July, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a warning against the broker. The warning specifically states that the firm does not have the proper authorization to be soliciting British customers.
By the fact that at least two regulatory authorities (ASIC & the FCA) in separate countries have highlighted this company as suspicious and operating without any sort of license should give prospective investors considerable pause before initiating any type of relationship with the broker.
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