In February 2022, we published our initial review on Octa Markets Cyprus Ltd d/b/a OctaFX. The broker is regulated by CySEC with license number 372/18. Like many other CySEC-regulated brokers, OctaFX also runs an offshore scheme via Octa Markets Incorporated, registered in St. Vincent & The Grenadines. The offshore scheme deploys different domains to solicit clients. Our new review on 5 January 2023 found that the offshore broker still accepts EEA residents.
Key data
| Trading names | OctaFX Octa Markets |
| Domains | www.octafx.com (offshore) www.octamarkets.net (offshore) https://www.octafxmy.net (offshore) https://octaindia.net (offshore) www.octafx.eu (regulated) |
| Legal entities | Octa Markets Incorporated (SVG) Octa Markets Cyprus Ltd (Cyprus |
| Jurisdictions | St. Vincent & The Grenadines Cyprus |
| Regulator | CySEC for www.octafx.eu and subdomains CySEC license 372/18 |
| Leverage | 1:500 (offshore) and 1:30 (regulated) |
| Proper KYC | no for offshore yes for regulated |
| Investor protection & Ombudsman | no for offshore yes for regulated |
| Related individuals | Anton Logvinovskyi, Pavel Prozorov Georgios Xydas, Georgios Pantzis |
The Review
The OctaFX offshore scheme is enormous. In December 2022, the website www.octsfx.com recorded around 2.1 million visitors (Source: Similarweb). Most of the people, just under 60%, were from India and Malaysia.
OctaFX started as an offshore broker in 2011 and additionally obtained a CySEC license in 2018 to address EEA residents. While the CySEC-regulated broker Octa Markets Cyprus Ltd does not offer its services to residents of Belgium, we have been able to register with the offshore scheme as a Belgian resident. The offshore entity of OctaFX has no authorization to solicit and onboard EEA residents, but it does so.
For example, the AllFXBrokers website promotes the offshore broker OctaFX and explicitly states that OctaFX would have a CySEC and FCA license. Customers are recruited with false information.
The offshore OctaFX offers leverage of 1:500, whereas ESMA only allows a maximum of 1:30.
Pre-KYC Deposits
After confirming the email, we would have been able to make unlimited deposits via crypto. At this time OctaFX has not asked us to upload documents to verify our ID or address.
On the other hand, when onboarding at the CySEC-regulated OctaFX broker, all of these checks, as well as the risk assessment and financial literacy check, are done properly.
Only the offshore broker’s website links to OctaFX‘s social media accounts. On Facebook, OctaFX has more than 589k followers.
Preliminary conclusion
Our reviews show that OctaFX‘s offshore broker activities violate the regulatory rules in EEA regimes. On LinkedIn, OctaFX also presents itself as an offshore broker. The CySEC-regulated broker is of secondary importance. Traders are happy with the offshore OctaFX. On Trustpilot, the offshore broker maintains a 4.6-star rating with an Excellent trust level from more than 2,300 reviews. This is also impressive.
While OctaFX performance on social media is impressive and its clients seem to be happy with the broker, its conduct does not seem to comply with ESMA and CySEC regulations.
There is no investor protection at offshore OctaFX and no right to assistance from the Financial Ombudsman in Cyprus. This massively increases the risk for investors. Also, the leverage of 1:500 suggests that the Offshore OctaFX mainly addresses investors with super-risk appetites outside any regulatory protection.
Share information
We would like to know more about OctaFX and its operators. If you have any information or experience, please share it with us via our whistleblower system, Whistle42.
