FSCA investigating Solis Markets following complaints from investors

The FSCA has asked investors who have interacted with Solis Markets or Eklavya Asset Management (Pty) Ltd and experienced issues such as unpaid withdrawals to contact the Authority.

The FSCA said it is investigating the activities of Solis Markets and Eklavya. It said Solis Markets may be providing financial services without the necessary authorisation.

Solis Markets claims to be “powered by Eklavya”, an authorised financial services provider (FSP number 45583). However, the Authority said its records indicate that Solis Markets is neither an authorised FSP nor a juristic representative of Eklavya or of any other authorised FSP.

“Eklavya advised that Solis Markets is a trading platform that they utilise. The FSCA is investigating possible contraventions of financial sector laws by Solis Markets and Eklavya,” the Authority stated.

The investigation was prompted by complaints from clients who reported that Solis Markets intercepted their investments and failed to release funds after withdrawal requests were submitted.

The FSCA emphasised that its investigation is not complete, and it has yet to make any findings. Its warning to the public is not intended to convey that any of the parties have contravened a financial sector law.

Members of the public or investors with information relevant to the investigation are encouraged to contact the FSCA. Emails should be sent to enforcement-complaints@fsca.co.za, with the subject line “Solis Markets Investor”, and include any details that may assist the FSCA.

Moonstone approached Eklavya for comment, but none was received by the time of publication.

Fraudsters impersonating HF Markets

The FSCA has issued a warning about a new impersonation scam, this time involving fraudsters posing as HF Markets (Pty) Ltd.

Individuals or entities are falsely claiming to represent HF Markets (FSP 46632) to solicit funds under the guise of legitimate investment opportunities.

According to the FSCA, the scammers operate through platforms such as Elite Wealth Consultants, Titans Trade, and Lucrativefxtmtrade.

“The FSCA has learned that the impersonators are using HF Markets’ company registration number on its various websites, to solicit investment from unsuspecting members of the public,” the Authority said.

The fraudsters are reportedly offering forex trading services and cryptocurrency investments.

HF Markets has confirmed to the FSCA that it has no connection with these impersonators.

The FSCA reiterated that offering financial products and services within South Africa requires proper authorisation.

“Without commenting on the business of the impersonators, the FSCA points out that offering financial products and services in South Africa requires its authorisation. The impersonators are not licensed under any financial sector law to provide financial products or financial services in South Africa.”

FXNONSTOP

The FSCA advises the public to act with caution when conducting financial services business with FXNONSTOP (Pty) Ltd.

The Authority said it has received information indicating that FXNONSTOP may be providing financial services to members of the public without being authorised to do so.

According to the FSCA, FXNONSTOP is promising guaranteed returns of up to 40% a week. It pointed out that profits from trading cannot be guaranteed, and the promised returns are unrealistic.

Without making or communicating any findings regarding the entity, the FSCA said FXNONSTOP is not authorised in terms of any financial sector law to provide financial products or render financial services.

The FSCA said it tried to contact FXNONSTOP (Pty) Ltd, but it has not responded.

Tiger Agriculture

The FSCA advises the public to act with caution when conducting financial services business with Tiger Agriculture.

The Authority said Tiger Agriculture may be unlawfully offering investments in agricultural products, with returns of up to 257% a month upon maturity.

Tiger Agriculture uses referrals and videos on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and its website to solicit investments.

Without commenting on the business of Tiger Agriculture, the FSCA pointed out that Tiger Agriculture is not authorised to render any financial services related business in terms of any financial sector law.

Red flags

The FSCA warns the public to exercise caution when considering investment opportunities, noting, “There are many fraudsters operating scams, and the number is growing. South Africans lose millions of rands every year to fraudsters. Illegal operations are sometimes well-disguised as legitimate operations.”

The FSCA advises investors to be aware of the red flags often associated with fraudulent schemes, particularly when presented with offers that seem unusually attractive.

These red flags include:

• unrealistic returns;
• being required to pay for services upfront before any service is performed;
• being required to pay more money to have your investments returned;
• being required to pay for training;
• being put under pressure to act and invest urgently; and
• vague information about the investment product.

Check before you invest

The FSCA says members of the public should always check the following:

• That an entity or individual is authorised by the FSCA to provide financial products and services, including for providing recommendations about how to invest.
• The category of advice the person is registered to provide, because there are instances where companies or people are registered to provide basic advice for a low-risk product but advice on far more complex and risky products.
• That the FSP number used by the entity or individual offering financial services matches the name of the FSP on the FSCA’s database.

You can check whether an entity or person is authorised to provide financial products and services by:

• Phoning 0800 110 443 (toll-free)
• Conducting an online search for an authorised financial institution by licence category: https://www.fsca.co.za/Regulated%20Entities/Pages/List-Regulated-Entities-Persons.aspx
• Conducting an online search for a financial institution that is an authorised FSP: https://www.fsca.co.za/Fais/Search_FSP.htm