The Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan (FCAA) on Thursday issued cease trade orders against a pair of offshore binary options trading firms, FMTrader and Capital Force Ltd.
The regulator says that neither company is registered to trade in Saskatchewan.
FMTrader claims to be based in the United Kingdom, according to the FCAA, and Capital Force Ltd. operates from Samoa.
The cease trade orders expire on June 17, although they may be extended, the FCAA says.
“Both provincially and nationally we are seeing significant losses to investors dealing with these unregistered binary option companies,” says Harvey White, acting deputy director of enforcement, FCAA, in a statement.
Binary options investors in Saskatchewan have lost US$490,000 over the past couple of years, the regulator notes.
Earlier this year, Canadian regulators established a task force to combat fraud involving unregistered binary options trading platforms. They are also currently considering rule proposals that would formally ban binary options trading to retail investors in Canada.
Read: CSA proposes formal ban of binary options trading schemes