The Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) has, on several occasions, warned the public against the activities of various companies that are operating unlawfully in Belgium. This list comprises all those companies that have been the subject of a warning in the course of the past four years.
The list includes:
- companies that offer, in or from Belgium, financial services and products without complying with Belgian financial legislation (no authorization / failure to publish a prospectus / etc.);
- companies behind 'recovery room' fraud;
By way of reminder, this type of fraud consists of offering to help people who have been victims of an earlier fraud to recover the money they lost. Despite the promises made by the fraudsters, the victims never recover the sums lost and, furthermore, the amounts paid in fees for the 'assistance' are lost as well.
- companies about which, in addition to any infringements of the financial legislation and regulations the FSMA supervises, the latter has identified serious evidence of investment fraud.
PLEASE NOTE:
- The fact that the FSMA has not published a warning about a company does not mean that the latter company holds the necessary authorization or registration to operate in Belgium. Although the FSMA does everything it can to publish a warning as soon as possible, it is not impossible that a company engages in activities before such a warning has been published. As a result, the list cannot be considered as exhaustive, and investors are always advised to check if a company that is offering them a financial service holds the requisite authorization or registration. They can do so using the search function on the FSMA website.
- The FSMA also points out that in general, such unlawful offers of financial services often constitute fraud. In such cases, it is almost impossible for victims to recover the sums invested.
- Be wary of 'cloned firms'. These are companies that pass themselves off as different, regulated undertakings even though they in fact have no connection with the latter. Investors can detect this type of fraud by comparing the email addresses or contact details for the companies in question.