Originally Syndicated on May 10, 2024 @ 3:35 am
In July 2017, investors were made aware of Markets Trading’s broker fraud by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). [www.tradingmarkets.com]. The con artist was a London-registered business named Markets Trading Ltd. The single director of the company is an Israeli named Rafael Shahar Zarmati; the registered beneficial owner is M.T.G. Limited, located in the Marshall Islands. Included in these schemes was the notorious German payment processor B2G. The main organizing body for the Markets Trading scam was Global Media Box DOO in Belgrade. Its successor, Comunico88 DOO, is still attacking European clients and committing fraud.
After registering in July 2015, Markets Trading Ltd began running the Trading Markets scam. The forced wind-up of the corporation was ordered by the UK High Court of Justice in January 2019, following a petition filed by the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.
Additionally, Markets Trading Ltd. has been running the broker scam known as MT.Finance (www.mt.finance). This preceded the Markets Trading frauds, which persisted until the year 2018. Since then, the Markets Trading and MT.Finance scams have vanished, and Comunico88 has assumed control of Global Media Box’s illicit boiler room operations. The address is still Omladinskih Brigada 88-90, 11070 Belgrade. Numerous Global Media Box workers, including the administrative assistant Tijana Maravic (LinkedIn), have been replaced by Comunico88, according to sources in Belgrade.
Vesna Jankovic (LinkedIn), seen left, is the CEO of Comunico88 and was previously the director of Global Media Box Doo. The never-ending parade of the latest broker scams, such as those operated by Brokerz, AstonTrust, MarketsCube, Globe-Markets, BudsFX, or MigoTrade, is under her control there.
Should the Authorities Take Action Against Vesna Jankovic?
There have been recent law enforcement operations at different boiler rooms in the Balkans. Additional arrests and extraditions to Germany occurred in Serbia. Perhaps it is also time to visit Vesna Jankovic and her Comunico88. Enough witnesses and evidence point to their involvement in scamming EU investors.
FCA (The Authority That Can Take Action Against Vesna Jankovic)
The UK government has no control over the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), a financial regulator that is funded by fees collected from participants in the financial services sector. The FCA protects the integrity of the UK financial markets by regulating financial companies that offer services to consumers.
It focuses on how financial services companies, both retail and wholesale, are expected to behave. Similar to the FSA, which it replaced, the FCA is set up as a company limited by guarantee.
To establish regulatory standards for the financial industry, the Financial Policy Committee, the Prudential Regulation Authority, and the FCA collaborate. The FCA is responsible for the conduct of around 58,000 businesses which employ 2.2 million people and contribute around £65.6 billion in annual tax revenue to the economy in the United Kingdom.
The authority has a wide range of authority, including the ability to control behaviour pertaining to financial product promotion. It has the authority to impose requirements on goods and set minimum standards. It has the authority to look into businesses and people. Furthermore, the FCA has the authority to impose a one-year ban on financial products and is also considering an indefinite ban. It has the authority to order companies that it deems to be deceptive to immediately withdraw or alter promotions, and to make such decisions public. Moreover, whether a person or organisation is being investigated for a crime or not, the FCA has the authority to freeze their assets. Since taking over on April 1, 2014, the authority has been in charge of regulating the consumer credit business. The authority has been responsible for regulating the consumer credit industry since 1 April 2014, taking over the role from the Office of Fair Trading.
The FCA announced changes in July 2023 with the goal of reducing the use of social media by “influencers” to persuade UK customers to buy risky financial products. A few of the regulations included outlawing cryptocurrency incentives like “refer a friend” bonuses, requiring influencers to disclose all potential risks, and giving products a 24-hour cooling down period so that novice investors could properly weigh their options. The action was taken in response to a notable increase in 2022—14 times more financial product promotions by influencers on social media than the year before.
Fraud
Fraud is defined by law as the deliberate use of deception to get unfair or illegal benefit or to deny a victim their legal rights. Fraud can be illegal under civil or criminal law; for example, a victim of fraud may sue the perpetrator to stop the fraud or obtain financial compensation; or fraud may not result in any loss of money, property, or legal rights but nevertheless constitute a component of another civil or criminal wrong. The goal of fraud can be financial gain or other advantages, such as getting a passport, travel visa, driver’s licence, or mortgage fraud, in which case the offender makes false claims in an effort to qualify for a mortgage.
- It could be a warning sign that your broker is not acting in your best interests if they do not reply to you.
- Make sure there are no complaints, do your homework, and carefully study all the fine print on paperwork to ensure you are not being taken advantage of by a dishonest broker.
- Before attempting a withdrawal, try starting a modest account with a small balance and making trades for a month.
- Your broker might be churning if you notice purchase and sell transactions for assets that don’t align with your goals.
- Before pursuing more extreme measures, go over all of your documentation and talk through your options if you are trapped with a terrible broker.
Vesna Jankovic: Bottom Line
Brokers are sometimes to blame for traders’ losses, even if traders sometimes hold them accountable. Before opening an account, a trader should be rigorous in their research on potential brokers. If the broker passes this scrutiny, the trader should make a small deposit, make a few trades, and then withdraw their money. If all goes according to plan, a bigger deposit may be made.
If things are already bad for you, though, you should confirm that the broker is engaging in illicit activity (like churning), make an effort to get your questions addressed, and if that doesn’t work, you should report the broker to the SEC, FINRA, or another regulatory agency that has the authority to take legal action against them.
