Fazzaco Weekly Digest: Interactive Brokers Sued by Trader; Halifax’s Bankruptcy Updates

Take a look at the latest happenings in this week's news digest from around the forex, fintech and crypto industry. Here are some of the top headlines from this past week.

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1. Interactive Brokers Sued by Trader for Allegedly Involvement in A Ponzi Scheme

A year after Interactive Brokers was fined $38 million for numerous AML failures, another client has filed a lawsuit against the broker for allegedly aiding and abetting the fraudulent activity that resulted in the penalty.

The client, named Benjamin Chang, has filed a lawsuit against Interactive Brokers in California Northern District Court, seeking real damages he and the (potential) class suffered, as well as additional damages caused by IB's aiding and abetting fraud and aiding and abetting violation of fiduciary obligations.

2. Halifax Liquidator KPMG Releases Bankruptcy Updates

KPMG, the Liquidator of Halifax Investment Services Pty Ltd, recently updated the status of Liquidation proceedings of Halifax AU and Halifax on its website.

KPMG requested that the Appeal be heard in August 2021. However, on 22 July 2021 the Courts made Orders confirming that the Appeal is scheduled to be held by way of a joint hearing between the Courts in Australia and New Zealand on 23 September 2021.

3. European Fintech bunq Appoints Jon Fath as Chief Operating Officer

Amsterdam-based challenger bank bunq announced that it has appointed Jon Fath as the company's new Chief Operating Officer.

Fath joins bunq with rich working experience. He has worked in 20+ countries in areas covering innovation, product development, sales, operations, service, strategy, and cost management. 

4. Poloniex Fined Over $10 Million by SEC for Operating Unregistered Platform

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it has charged the crypto asset exchange Poloniex LLC (Poloniex) to pay a penalty of $10,388,309, for it operated an unregistered online digital asset exchange.

Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, Poloniex agreed to the entry of a cease-and-desist order and agreed to pay disgorgement of $8,484,313, prejudgment interest of $403,995, and a civil penalty of $1.5 million for a total of $10,388,309.

5. XTB Secures South African License from FSCA

X-Trade Brokers (XTB), a leading FX & CFD broker based in Poland, has secured a regulatory license from the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), the regulator of the South African financial markets.

The new license is for XTB's locally formed entity, XTB Africa (Pty) Ltd.

6. Blueberry Markets Appoints Ajak Biar as Chief Commercial Officer

Blueberry Markets, an Australian broker, also a registered brand of the Eightcap group, has appointed Ajak Biar as its new Chief Commercial Officer. He will report directly to Blueberry’s Managing Director, Dean Hyde.

Biar will be responsible for overseeing some of the crucial operations of the broker, including sales, partnerships, customer service, compliance and operations.

7. LegacyFX Cooperates with Spanish Football Club Real Betis​

LegacyFX, a regulated broker offering forex and CFD trading, announced its official sponsorship of Real Betis Balompié, a professional Spanish football club commonly known as Real Betis. It is an agreement made with the will of continuing in time, with a two-year deal at first and the option of extending it. 

Through the cooperation with Real Betis, LegacyFX seeks to boost its image in the Spanish and international markets, and also multiply their commercial strategy through the Club and football industry.