FSA alerts people to check firms offering investment services

Muscat: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has intensified its warning to the public against dealing with unauthorised platforms or entities offering securities-related services in the Sultanate of Oman.

In its latest notice issued on Monday, the regulator released an official list of companies and individuals engaging in securities activity without the proper licensing.

The FSA urged citizens, residents, and investors to exercise extreme caution when approached by firms or individuals claiming to provide investment services, especially via websites or social media platforms.

The authority highlighted the risks of impersonation and fraudulent claims of supervision by fictitious bodies.

FSA also cited an example as the so-called “Gulf Higher Authority for Financial Conduct”, operating through the website www.financialgcc.com, which falsely claimed regulatory authority in the Gulf region.

The FSA stressed that a commercial registration from the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion does not constitute a licence to operate securities or investment services. “Only companies authorised by the FSA can legally operate in this domain,” it reiterated.

The authority advised investors to verify the legitimacy of any entity before making financial transactions. It encouraged the public to consult the official FSA register of licensed entities and to follow international alerts, such as those issued by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). 

The FSA’s published list includes entities operating under company names, websites, or social media accounts that are not authorised to provide securities services in Oman.

Examples include Instagram handles such as: taw.seyat2024, orotrading.om, shmokh.trading, etrading.om, vimarkets, n.o99, mohammed.almashmoum, wetrade_om, emanalayyafoman, smarttrader.om and many more.

Besides Instagram handles, there are some unauthorised websites that have also come under scanner.

These are Masar Capital, CMS Prime, PSFX Pro, Al-qemaa, Al Waseet Financial Services, Invesa Capital, trading road, think markets, exclusivemarkets and many more.

The FSA has also released an authorised list of the companies to help the investors.