Following the investigation by the Insolvency Service, the UK High Court Orders Magnum Options Shut Down. What do we know about this case?
27 October, AtoZForex – The High Court of the UK has made a decision to shut down the Binary Options brokerage Magnum Options. Reportedly, this entity is responsible for taking a total of £750,000 from vulnerable people in the UK. It did so by selling the fixed-odds betting investments.
UK High Court Orders Magnum Options Shut Down
Let’s look closer into the case. There are two brands in connection to a Bulgarian registered entity, namely Hampshire Capital Ventures Limited. These two brands have been placed in the provisional liquidation. Presently, brands are subject to High Court action. Prior to this, the branch of the Insolvency service has investigated the case. The official announcement states:
“The investigation into both companies found that they had attracted customers through viral internet marketing, offering guaranteed fixed returns as set out throughout the above websites. Customers were not made aware of terms and conditions at the point of sale.”
The UK officials have accused Hampshire Capital and its successor Solaris Vision Ltd, of providing investments advice without any valid license. In addition, the entity has been accused of aggravated fraud.
In fact, the Insolvency Service has found that 41 complaints were made to the police in regards to the fraudulent scheme. Customers have reported losses of more than £750,000. Reportedly, all of the losses occurred between February 2016 to March 2017.
Insolvency Service Official statement details
The official statement claims that Magnum Options and Magnum Options EU have adopted aggressive and persistent sales practices. They have been operating online via www.magnumoptions.eu and latterly www.magnumoptions.com.
The entities have been also making unsolicited calls to victims. Reportedly, they have been claiming that their Binary Options trading is able to yield up an 81% return per trade.
Moreover, the firm promised to victims that they would receive guaranteed returns. Yet, these returns were based on terms and conditions that were believed to be onerous, according to the filing. The terms and conditions also appeared unfair to the clients, requiring them to trade 30 or 40 times their account balance in order to be able to withdraw. The statement further states:
“Even when some customers did do so, no payouts were made.”
Following on this, Magnum Options has been the subject of numerous regulatory warnings. It has made its way to the warning lists of Canadian Manitoba Securities Commission and Australia’s Securities and Securities Division of the Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan.
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