The British Columbia Securities Commission has settled with a U.S. foreign exchange trading firm after the firm admitted to breaching securities laws through unregistered trading in B.C.

Forex Capital Markets, LLC has agreed to pay $142,500 to the BCSC after staff learned that the New York-based firm had opened and serviced accounts for 369 B.C. residents without being registered to do so in B.C.

Forex provides services that allow clients to speculate on changes in the exchange rate between two currencies. Forex has agreed to stop accepting new clients from B.C. until it has registered as an exchange contracts dealer in the province. The settlement allows Forex to meet the registration requirements using an affiliate.

As part of the settlement, Forex will inform existing clients in B.C. that it has not yet been registered to trade securities or exchange contracts in the province and that its disclosure may not follow B.C. laws. It will also warn existing B.C. clients that it may be more difficult for them to take legal action against Forex when compared with taking similar legal action against a Canadian entity.

Forex’s monetary settlement with the BCSC includes registration fees that it would have had to pay to operate in B.C. since April 2000 had it been properly registered, along with $20,000 towards investigation costs.