📰 Industry Exposure

The FSMA wishes to draw the attention of the public to fake information sites that steal the identity of Belgian media to promote fraudulent trading platforms. These fake websites fraudulently use the visual identity and name of well-known Belgian or international media outlets (Le Soir, La Libre, HLN, Euronews, etc.) to lend credibility to the investment offers they promote. The FSMA therefore urges consumers to be particularly vigilant. Fraudsters are increasingly using fake information websites that steal the appearance of well-known Belgian and international media outlets. The fake articles they publish there are in fact disguised advertisements whose sole objective is to encourage readers to fill in a contact form in order to be contacted by a fraudulent trading platform. To lend the appearance of credibility to their contents, these fraudsters shamelessly steal the identity of Belgian celebrities. They attribute false statements to them or make it seem as if they were investing in online trading platforms. These fake press articles often describe alleged incidents occurring during a televised debate or interview aired on Belgian TV stations. In so doing, they refer to so-called ‘clashes’ between politicians, economic or financial leaders and journalists or TV hosts, during which one of the participants apparently reveals to the public that investing in a trading platform is the secret to getting rich. The fraudsters try to reassure investors by claiming that these trading platforms comply with Belgian financial legislation and regulations and that they are authorized by the FSMA or the National Bank of Belgium. These fake articles are often accompanied by deep fake photos or video clips from programmes, in an effort to enhance their trustworthiness.

The Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) warns the public against the activities of scammers who usurp the name and the logo of the FSMA and other financial supervisors to mislead consumers. This is a well-known fraud technique, for which ESMA also published a warning. Fraudsters claim that the FSMA can help victims of investment fraud to recover or unblock the money they lost. For this service, the fraudsters ask the victims for compensation or for the payment of a tax to the FSMA. In some cases, the scammers even claim that fraud victims would have to pay a fine to the FSMA. This form of fraud is called recovery room fraud. In particular, consumers are often contacted by Protectionline, a phantom company operating through the website https://protectionline.net/. This company contacts victims of investment fraud and claims it can help them recover lost funds. To this end, the victim must submit a claim for compensation to be supposedly approved by the FSMA. The victim is then redirected to websites that look exactly like the FSMA website: https://regulatory-legal.systems/, https://regulatory-payout.systems/ and https://regulatory-transfer.systems/. These websites are completely fake and have no connection with the FSMA. The URL of the FSMA’s official website is www.fsma.be. The FSMA also noticed that its logo is sometimes added to fraudulent websites to give the impression that a given entity is authorized by the FSMA to offer financial services. The scammers use the following websites and email addresses: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Emails from these or similar addresses are fraudulent. Do not respond to such emails but delete them.

The FCA has decided to ban Daniel Thomas from working in financial services and fine him £742,700 after finding he recklessly gave defined benefit pension transfer advice he was neither qualified nor allowed to give. Mr Thomas has referred his Decision Notice to the Upper Tribunal where he will present his case. Any findings in the Decision Notice are therefore provisional and reflect the FCA’s belief as to what occurred and how it considers his behaviour should be characterised. The FCA will take no action against him until the Tribunal reaches its decision, which will be published on its website.

The FCA has decided to ban 3 former senior figures at Dolfin Financial (UK) Limited (Dolfin) after finding they ran a scheme that helped clients bypass UK visa rules. Mr Joukovski has referred his Decision Notice to the Upper Tribunal where he and the FCA will present their cases. Any findings in Mr Joukovski’s Decision Notice are therefore provisional and reflect the FCA’s belief as to what occurred and how it considers his behaviour should be characterised. The proposed action outlined in Mr Joukovski’s Decision Notice will have no effect pending the determination of the reference by the Tribunal whose decision will be made public on its website.

Release Number 9280-26 CFTC Charges Goliath Ventures Inc. and CEO with $400 Million Fraud Scheme August 11, 2026 WASHINGTON — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced it filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida against Goliath Ventures. Inc. and CEO, Christopher Delgado, a Florida resident. The complaint alleges the defendants engaged in a Ponzi scheme by fraudulently soliciting and accepting funds from the public for crypto asset trading, including in bitcoin and ether. Contrary to their representations, the defendants misappropriated all customer funds, including by paying fictitious profits to existing customers and funding Delgado’s lavish lifestyle. Defendants also falsely guaranteed the return of principal investments and/or profits and issued false account statements reflecting nonexistent profits. In total, approximately 1,600 customers contributed at least $397 million to the defendants’ fraud. “We will continue to aggressively police fraud, abuse, and manipulation in the crypto asset markets to ensure that bad actors are punished, while developing clear rules of the road so that good actors have the opportunity to build on American soil,” said Chairman Michael S. Selig. “Today’s action further underscores our commitment to rooting out misconduct in these markets.” “The Division of Enforcement continues to be an important cop on the beat in addressing fraud in connection with digital commodities,” said Director of Enforcement David I. Miller.

Release Number 9263-26 CFTC Orders Two Foreign Firms to Pay $2.5 Million for Illegal Off-Exchange Transactions with U.S. Customers June 29, 2026 WASHINGTON — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced an order filing and settling charges against Netrios LP Ltd. and Red Acre Ltd. for facilitating illegal off-exchange leveraged or margined retail commodity transactions involving U.S. customers who were not eligible contract participants. Under the order, Netrios must pay a $1.75 million civil monetary penalty, and Red Acre must pay a $750,000 civil monetary penalty. Both firms must also cease and desist from the unlawful conduct. The order finds Netrios sold a specialized service that provided essential functions used to offer and sell leveraged or margined retail commodities through offshore, off-exchange branded platforms that solicited U.S. customers without regard for whether those customers met eligible contract participant requirements. Red Acre intentionally helped Netrios by providing customer and other support. In doing so, Netrios carried out activities that lawfully could only be performed on a CFTC-registered exchange, and Red Acre aided and abetted Netrios’s illegal activities. Today the Securities and Exchange Commission announced the filing and settling of charges against Netrios and Red Acre based on the same underlying conduct. The CFTC thanks the SEC, the Central Bank of Ireland, the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles, and the Malta Financial Services Authority for their assistance.