BaFin Black List 2022

The BaFin Has Flagged These Brokers—Is Your Broker on This List? 

BaFin, Germany’s financial regulator has flagged the following brokers as suspected scams. Do you have an account with any of these brokers? We recommend that you close the account and seek a refund immediately. If this proves difficult, speak to ReportScamOnline experts and we can assist you in seeking legal action. 

It’s a good idea to check this list of scam broker reviews regularly to ensure that none of the financial services you use are suspected scams. Before opening an account with a broker, do thorough research on the broker’s background. We stay current on the newest alerts from the world’s leading financial regulators, aggregate these lists, research each broker, and produce reviews that are essential tools for research. 

What Is the BaFin and What Does It Do? 

The BaFin or Federal Financial Supervisory Authority in Germany is an independent body that is responsible for regulating banks, insurance companies, brokers and all financial companies that operate in Germany. This means ensuring financial companies comply with rules and regulations and taking action against financial institutions that violate standards. 

BaFin also aims to educate the public about ways to stay safe from suspected financial fraud. This means sending out alerts about questionable brokers, such as those on this list. BaFin will flag brokers for violating regulations or receiving a large number of verified complaints. 

Why Is the BaFin Warning the Public About These Brokers? 

Licensing Issues

Many of these brokers have no license or are transgressing the terms of their license by opening accounts for customers in areas they have no authorization to offer services. Some of these brokers have expired licenses and are still trying to pass off these licenses as legitimate. Others are clone brokers that are imitating regulated brokers by adopting similar names. 

Misleading Information

One common thread behind most types of scams are misleading statements. Fake claims are a way of attracting customers desperate to make some extra money and who are more likely to listen to hyped up promises than check for actual credentials. Many of these brokers claim their customers will make a certain percentage returns every month, but this claim is misleading, because no broker can guarantee a specific level of return on investment. 

Lack of Transparency

Most of these brokers don’t have actual names, addresses or company histories. That’s because much of this information is manufactured with stock photos, false locations or counterfeit biographies. Some don’t bother offering any identities, fake or real, but are certain people will open accounts even though they have no transparency. 

Questionable Activities

BaFin ensures all financial companies operating in Germany comply with regulations. Brokers may end up on this list because of bypassing laws, such as minimums for market capitalization, offering higher than permitted leverage and other violations. These questionable activities may not transgress laws, but can be highly problematic, such as using aggressive marketing tactics, such as spamming or pressuring people to invest more money even after losses.

Account Problems

Imagine signing up for a brokerage account only to realize that you have no access to your funds. The brokers on this list may claim that withdrawals aren’t allowed until clients make a minimum amount of money or that they have to pay a huge transaction fee. Others may ignore withdrawal requests or freeze clients out of their accounts suddenly. 

Customer Complaints

We are all familiar with customer review sites, but BaFin is more discriminating about the reviews it receives. Before alerting the public about a broker, BaFin investigates claims and validates that there is a basis for them. Valid complaints are an important red flag for identifying suspicious brokers as frauds.

BaFin Blacklist