Kenya’s capital markets regulator has warned against the rising cases of unregulated online forex trading and the associate risk Kenyans have of losing their investment.
The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) on Monday said it has seen an increase in the number of individuals and companies offering online forex trading services without having been licensed.
The authority has called on the unregulated entities to cease and desist from trading, conducting sensitizations in Kenya and onboarding Kenyan investors or managing online foreign exchange portfolios.
CMA chief executive officer Paul Muthaura said the regulator plans to take appropriate enforcement action against any persons or entities illegally conducting online foreign exchange trade or collecting client funds in contravention of the above regulatory provisions.
”In accordance with provisions of Section 23(1) of the Capital Markets Act and the Capital Markets (Online Foreign Exchange Trading) Regulations, 2017, the CMA has issued only one license to EGM Securities Limited to operate as a non – dealing online foreign exchange broker,” Muthaura said.
He urged members of the public who have been affected or become aware of such illegal online foreign exchange transactions to report to the Authority or to the Capital Markets Fraud Investigation Unit.
