In a major crackdown on financial fraud, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has ordered five offshore trading firms and three individuals to pay over $451 million in restitution and penalties for their involvement in a fraudulent binary options trading scheme. The case, led by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) , targets an international fraud network that misled investors into trading on fake platforms, ultimately causing massive financial losses. The Fraud Scheme: Misrepresentation and Manipulation Between 2014 and 2019 , the fraudsters operated unregulated binary options trading websites under names like BigOption, BinaryBook, and BinaryOnline . They aggressively lured investors, promising risk-free profits while manipulating trading platforms to ensure traders would lose money. The scheme involved: Fake identities and false financial expertise to gain investor trust. Hidden restrictions on bonuses that made withdrawals nearly i...

  Saxo Bank, the multi-asset investment specialist, has announced upcoming changes to its lineup of trading instruments. As part of these changes, the Japan 225 Index CFD will be discontinued. The company has informed its white-label partners (WLs) about this decision, allowing them time to manage their clients' existing positions. Traders can reduce their current exposure to this product until February 28, 2025. On this date, any remaining open positions will be closed automatically by Saxo. For WLs looking to offer alternatives, expiring CFDs such as "JP225DEC24" or "JP225MAR25" can be made available. However, Saxo has clarified that redistributing the underlying price data for these expiring CFDs requires a direct license agreement with the Singapore Exchange (SGX). Partners who do not already hold an SGX license will need to enter into an agreement directly with SGX. This strategic adjustment is part of Saxo’s efforts to streamline its offerings and comply w...