OffshoreLeaks investigation blows the lid off organized crime networks, including Gulf Brokers and founder Husam Zarrouq, responsible for multiple scams operating from the UAE, and scamming investors in countries like India, Cambodia, Indonesia, etc.
It took OffshoreLeaks almost a year to get to the bottom of the Gulf Brokers Scam.
The painstaking investigation involved sifting through hundreds of documents, speaking to dozens of confidential informants, and compiling all information about Gulf Brokers, its sister concerns, and its operators.
File Photo: Gulf Brokers Facebook PageThis network of organized criminals is behind several trading scams operating in multiple countries since 2018, wiping out millions of dollars every month from the market and destroying thousands of lives. Due to the lack of rules in many countries and the lack of extradition treaties, criminals are sure that the law will never catch up with them. As a result, their crimes have become frighteningly grotesque.
In most cases, the victims have no recourse and are resigned to losing their money. Gulf Brokers is not a registered broker in most countries; they target investors, in India, South-East Asia, and Africa. Gulf Brokers is a limited liability company registered in Seychelles. Ever been to Seychelles? Me neither…
This means, that your funds are not protected, insured, or regulated by your government. You are handing it over to an offshore account, and trusting them to invest it wisely. They don’t, and we have the receipts to prove it –
OffshoreLeaks has just identified the masterminds of this gang but also has an exhaustive record of their criminal history along with minute personal details of all their key accomplices, in some cases down to what cars they drive, where they dine, and who they date. We are giving out all of this information except for pictures and names of people. This is because it is against the law unless OffshoreLeaks.com makes this information public.
Analyzing the Domain – GulfBrokers.com
If gulfbrokers.com is offering you trading advice or investment opportunities you should check to see if they are regulated as they are probably breaking the law.
These types of sites are called HYIPs (high-yield investment programs) and are well known for scamming people out of all their money by promising the world and delivering nothing.
Gulfbrokers.com appear to mainly market to clients in Europe and the USA via telephone and posting on social media such as Tiktok and Instagram.
Most of their scam call centers are located in South India. OffshoreLeaks.com will be publishing the details in its report.
Some of the associates who helped GulfBrokers run this scam –
- Copreus Pvt Ltd – Sri Lanka
- Victoria Partners
- ZPH Marketing
Gulf Brokers regulation & safety of funds
We learn through the website that the brokerage is regulated by the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles with a license number of SDO13. Here we remind readers that the financial regulator of Seychelles, the FSA, cannot compare with prestigious regulatory agencies in Europe, most importantly because it does not provide participation in a financial mechanism by which clients’ losses may be recovered in case of bankruptcy or fraud. There is also no assurance for the segregation of accounts, which exposes the clients to the possibility of commingling – combining the broker’s finances with those of the client. Furthermore, the agency requires a meager $50,000 start-up capital, whereas CySEC requires at least $730,000.
After checking with the online registry of the Financial Services Authority we may conclude that the brokerage is in fact licensed by the authorities in Seychelles
The brokerage does provide the MetaTrader 5 trading platform and offers a test drive as well, which isn’t something common with scammers. On it, we could see that clients are extended a leverage of up to 1:500, which is absurdly high and cannot be provided anywhere in Europe due to new restrictions set by ESMA. Furthermore, we could see a spread of 3 pips on EUR/USD, which is twice the industry average. Even if we ignore all of that, the lack of credible regulation makes us think that clients of the brokerage may be at risk in a big way.
Traders needn’t worry about such a risk if they choose to trade with a brokerage regulated and authorized by a prestigious regulatory agency. Such agencies are the FCA in the UK and CySec in Cyprus which have been leading names in Forex trading for some time now. Their regulatory framework is made up of a lot of strict rules that keep customers from being scammed. Such rules include the segregation of accounts which assures that commingling with the client’s money is not possible. Furthermore, a license by such a regulatory body entails participation in a financial mechanism by which clients may be compensated if they suffer losses due to fraud or bankruptcy. With the FCA the compensation is up to 50 000 pounds, whereas with CySEC it is up to 20 000 euros per person.