[SINGAPORE] The websites of unlicensed trading platforms Octa and XM will be blocked for Singapore residents with effect from Jun 20, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore Police Force in a joint statement on Friday (Jun 6).
“Consumers with active accounts with Octa and XM will not be able to access their websites through Internet Access Service Providers based in Singapore,” the authorities said, noting that information on the platforms’ websites constitutes prohibited content under the Internet Code of Practice.
The platforms had offered and marketed services – such as trading in foreign exchange on a leveraged basis, commodities, indices and equities – to customers in Singapore without licences, which breached the Securities and Futures Act 2001 (SFA).
Section 82 of the SFA states that entities require a capital markets services licence to conduct business in the regulated activity of dealing in capital markets products – which includes securities and leveraged foreign exchange trading.
The Octa platform is operated by two entities, Octa Markets and Uni Fin Invest, which were purportedly incorporated in the Union of Comoros and Mauritius, respectively. Meanwhile, the XM platform is operated by XM Global, which was purportedly incorporated in Belize.
As the entities operating the two platforms do not hold the requisite licence, they are prohibited from carrying out such businesses, said the MAS and the police.
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This prohibition extends to entities operating outside of Singapore should they solicit or advertise products or services targeting Singapore persons, or if a substantial number of Singaporeans use their products or services, they added.
The MAS and the police urged members of the public to deal only with regulated online trading platforms with valid capital markets services licences, which are listed in the MAS Financial Institutions Directory.
They highlighted that most unregulated online trading platforms are located outside Singapore and pose a greater risk of fraud as the credibility of their operations cannot be easily verified.
“In addition to being subject to the risk of financial loss, members of the public may face challenges in pursuing claims against operators based overseas,” they warned.
“Online trading platforms may also require payment for trades to be made using credit or debit cards, which gives rise to a further risk of unauthorised card transactions.”
