FX River / JBA-Licensed Adv. Mohammad Wasef: A Look into the FX Market from A Legal Perspective

FOREX River is a multi-asset broker, specialized in providing premium financial markets intermediary services, with over a decade of practice in the industry.

The Head of the Legal Department at FOREX River, Mr. Mohammad Wasef Hasouneh, accepted our invitation, and joined us at Fazzaco. We had a nice chat and Q&A, and he shared a lot of his insightful opinions on the legal matters concerning forex brokers.

---

Fazzaco: Thank you for joining Fazzaco, Mohammad. First, could you please introduce yourself and what your role is at FOREX River?

Mohammad: I, Adv. Mohammad Wasef Hasouneh, work as a Head of the Legal Department at FOREX River; moreover, I am a practicing lawyer licensed by Jordan Bar Association and a legal counsel to several local and international incorporations. I am also an expert in combating money laundering and terrorist financing and approved by Jordan Securities Commission (JSC) and Labuan Financial Services Authority (LFSA)/Malaysia. Currently, I'm in the process of completing my postgraduate to get a Master degree in business law (LLM).

Fazzaco: What are the legal risks a forex broker might have to deal with, from the perspective of the Head of Legal Department?

Mohammad: As we know, the legislation around the world varies from one place to another. Some of them are subject to regulatory bodies, some are subject to central banks, and some do not have any legislations regulating this type of business. So, in my perspective, the legal risk for forex brokers is the difference in regulating legislation, which may constitute an obstacle to financial services companies in entering new markets, or in solving the problems that may arise.

One of the risks is handling Anti Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF). Both are financial crimes that may significantly affect the company’s performance and reputation. At the same time, they are  transnational crimes, therefore, the financial services companies have to appoint qualified and experienced officers to avoid such legal risks.

Fazzaco: What has FOREX River done to avoid such risks as well as risks arising from retail traders? Would you use the KYC (Know-Your-Customer) function of CRM to reduce your risks?

Mohammad: FOREX River is a global financial services company licensed by several financial authorities, provides financial brokerage services and acts as a foreign liquidity provider for local companies working in the field of financial services, including Al Salam for Financial Investments Company in Jordan.

As a multi-asset broker, FOREX River specializes in providing premium financial markets intermediary services. With over a decade of practice in the industry, FOREX River continuously strives to maintain a safe and reliable investment environment.

To avoid the legal risks mentioned to above, FOREX River is eager to obtain different type of licenses by seeking to expand its presence in different investment environments.

Also, the legal requirements of the different legislative environments make the use of technology a must. Here, the role of the legal department becomes crucial. We have to check the applicability of such applications to meet the different legislative requirements from one country to another, including the verification of customer identity (KYC), especially since Financial Action Task Force (FATF) periodically clarifies the extent to which its recommendations are adhered to, which may give an indication for financial companies to classify their clients in terms of legal risk and customer acceptance.

Fazzaco: Why does FOREX River provide MT5 platform only while most brokers out there have MT4 as well?

Mohammad: In fact, FOREX River had the services of both MT4 and MT5 trading platforms. However, the company's eagerness to provide a state-of-the-art trading platform that fulfills the clients' needs for an advanced, fast, more reliable, and durable service that can stay ahead of competing platforms for a long time, made the decision to abandon MT4 easier.

Our technical team appreciated the shift since it minimizes the need for additional applications and interfaces.

FOREX River was founded with the aim of providing the highest quality of services, technology and resources to match the needs of investors of all levels and provide access to a wide range of markets through a dynamic set of channels and the latest award-winning platforms.

Fazzaco: How is FOREX River regulated at present? Do you have plans to apply for other types of regulation?

Mohammad: FOREX River is regulated by many different financial regulatory bodies, including (Malaysia - Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) - the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan as a foreign broker) and has regional offices in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan - United Arab Emirates / Dubai to provide financial services of all kinds and types. It also has many unique engagements, partnerships and alliances in the Middle East, FAR EAST, and Europe.

In fact, it is the responsibility of the legal department to study the company's adaptation capability to various investment and legislative environments in order to achieve the company's vision and future prospects. The legal department expresses its opinion and advice, and then initiate the establishment of the necessary legal entities of various status and types, allying with the necessary investment arms, making the necessary alliances, and obtaining the necessary licenses to conduct investment financial services business. There is no specific limit to the size of the expansion and outreach that we seek to achieve.

Fazzaco: FOREX River does not provide crypto trading so far, is it because you believe that it is much risky than regular FX products? Why?

Mohammad: We are monitoring how some countries began to enact legislation that regulates the crypto trading market. The legitimacy of our work is priority number one, whatever the opinions were between supporters and opposers within the company, the legal opinion always holds the majority.

In terms of risks involved, we certainly see that there are several risks, including financial crimes, digital piracy, unjustified sharp fluctuations in their prices (inconsistency) and their lack of stability compared to the regulatory and globally recognized fiat money, in addition to the economic risks to countries, which negatively affects the monetary value of national currencies in addition to the inability at the present time to resolve legal disputes related to the cryptocurrency and the difficulty of knowing the identities of dealers.

In our opinion, and in if these cryptocurrencies are regulated and legally recognized, it is necessary to determine whether they are linked to the official currencies of the countries or whether they are a new type of currency and the extent of credit granted to them. As fiat money is, of course, according to some jurists, a credit instrument granted by the governments of countries to conduct transactions, as it is a sovereign right of countries.

Therefore, the process of regulation in itself is one of the most important factors for success in all transactions, and once these cryptocurrencies are regulated and recognized, we will be one of the first companies that will include them in our financial services.