Germany’s BaFin Says Online Broker MainTrade Not Authorized

[forex4you]

Germany's BaFin Says Online Broker MainTrade Not Authorized

<p>The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), Germany's financial
industry regulator, announced on Friday that the online broker MainTrade.co is not
authorized to operate in the country. The brokerage firm is also not under BaFin's supervision, the regulator said.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The new update comes a few days after the regulator urged consumers in
the country <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/regulation/bafin-raises-alarm-on-trojan-godfather-affecting-banking-and-crypto-apps/" target="_blank" rel="follow">to beware of the trojan virus 'Godfather'</a> which attacks
Android-based banking and cryptocurrency apps.</p><p class="MsoNormal text-align-justify">"In accordance with section 37 (4) of the German Banking Act
(Kreditwesengesetz - KWG), BaFin would like to make clear that MainTrade does
not have authorisation under the KWG to conduct banking business or provide
financial services," the financial markets supervisor said in <a href="https://www.bafin.de/SharedDocs/Veroeffentlichungen/EN/Verbrauchermitteilung/unerlaubte/2023/meldung_2023_01_10_MainTrade_en.html" target="_blank" rel="follow">an update</a> published on its website.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Furthermore, the German regulator noted that the information available on MainTrade's
website, maintrade.co, "gives reasonable grounds" to suspect that the online
broker is offering financial services in the country without the required permission.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Watch this FMLS22 session that explores all angles of expected forex regulation in 2023.</p><p class="MsoNormal">"Companies that conduct banking business or provide financial services
in Germany require authorisation under the KWG. However, some companies operate
without the necessary authorization," BaFin explained. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Therefore, the regulator urged retail investors to "exercise the utmost
caution and do the necessary research beforehand in order to identify fraud
attempts at an early stage."</p><p class="MsoNormal text-align-justify">Major BaFin Investigations in 2022</p><p class="MsoNormal">Last year, BaFin raised alarm on a number of online forex and crypto
trading platforms allegedly operating in the country without due authorization. </p><p class="MsoNormal text-align-justify">In November, the regulator <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/germanys-bafin-orders-coinbase-to-improve-organizational-deficiencies/" target="_blank" rel="follow">ordered Coinbase's local office</a> in the country to
improve its "organization deficiencies." The financial markets supervisor identified the shortcoming in the annual audit
of the company's finances. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Earlier in September, the regulator <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/germanys-bafin-says-trading-platform-gts-financial-not-authorized/" target="_blank" rel="follow">flagged down GTS</a> Financial LLC, a
trading platform provider, for not obtaining permission to run its business in
the country. BaFin explained that the firm contacts German investors and
recommends specific shares without being permitted under the KWG to offer banking or financial services to Germans.</p><p class="MsoNormal text-align-justify">Moreover, during the course of the year, BaFin issued similar warnings against <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/fintech/liquitrade-is-operating-illegal-banking-services-in-germany-bafin-says/" target="_blank" rel="follow">LiquiTrade</a>, <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/regulation/bafin-to-investigate-blockchainsde/" target="_blank" rel="follow">blockchains.de</a> and <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/bafin-launches-investigation-against-upbitfx-exchange/" target="_blank" rel="follow">UpbitFX Exchange</a>. In the case of UpbitFX Exchange, the financial markets watchdog alleged that the firm claimed a false connection to
a BaFin-registered firm, NSFX Limited (nsbroker.com).</p>

This article was written by Solomon Oladipupo at www.financemagnates.com.

Source: Germany's BaFin Says Online Broker MainTrade Not Authorized