The Cape Town-based trading platform Banxso has strong links to one of the world’s largest international binary options scams operating between 2010 and 2017. The scam was Banc de Binary, which financial regulators worldwide banned from operating in their countries. At the same time, the American and Cyprian regulators fined the company record amounts, while an international law firm instituted a class action against the firm after it ceased operations in 2017. A Moneyweb investigation found that Banxso’s owner and director, Harel Adam Sekler, was a director and owner of a company that operated the Banc de Binary scam in Australia, New Zealand, Belize, Canada and elsewhere. The German national vehemently denied any involvement or link with Banc de Binary and questioned the authenticity of the documentation indicating his direct involvement.
Banc de Binary acquired a financial licence from the Cyprian financial regulator in January 2013. It was one of the first binary options traders to acquire one, and the licence allowed it to trade throughout Europe. In June 2013, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission warned US citizens that Banc de Binary was trading illegally in the country. Moneyweb reports that the SEC also laid charges against the company in Las Vegas in 2013 for operating illegally in the country. Banc de Binary and Laurent eventually settled the case in 2016 by paying a record fine of $11m in disgorgement, penalties, and refunds to investors. The Cyprian regulator also fined Banc de Binary multiple times between 2013 and 2017 for being dishonest, offering services it was not licensed to offer, and for running misleading marketing campaigns.
Banxso is registered with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) and sponsors Bafana Bafana and UFC champion Dricus du Plessis. However, it is a significant beneficiary of fake ads, through which celebrities such as Elon Musk, Johann Rupert, and Nicky Oppenheimer supposedly promote what are bogus investment products. Moneyweb spoke to several former employees who described a well-designed process for extracting as much money from those who reacted to the fake ads. Banxso has denied any links with the fake ads and claims its systems were hacked by third parties who inserted the leads to cause it reputational damage. The company has also refunded many clients who complained about being duped by the fake ads.