NFA case against Forex.com/Gain Capital 6 replies
NFA Takes Action Against Gain Capital 27 replies
What happens to brokers not meeting the NFA capital requirement? 4 replies
Is losing a requirement to be successful? 72 replies
MIG vs Northfinance Margin Requirement 2 replies
DislikedIt's a complaint, it needs to be taken seriously, but it's not the end-all, be-all. I also realize that I can't do much to answer the allegations made here to pull funds, because Savior will have this posted on 50 forums, and unfortunately, I have a job to do. I'd love to repost this everywhere, but god knows in how many places he's put this.
I don't expect I'll get much of a fair hearing on here in light of some of the stuff I've seen in the forums, but I do thank you for the opportunity to respond. If anyone has any questions, I'll be more than happy to respond on an individual basis.Ignored
DislikedIgnored
DislikedThese two links you provided are quite disturbing. There are a lot of questions floating around about David Smith. He is being investigated by the Jamaican Government, Wachovia Bank and his transactions are now the subject of a NFA investigation. What is this guy hiding?Ignored
QuoteDislikedDavid Smith is a Celebrity
I went to a Forex Expo over the weekend. It was the first of its kind that I’d ever seen put on in Jamaica, and since I have been dabbling in FX trading for the past 2 months or so I decided to go.
The first three sessions of the expo were very good and I picked up quite a few pointers that I could see being immediately useful. In the last two sessions however I lost interest slightly as the presenters (MTI and I-TradeFX) began to shamelessly promote their own services, which in all honesty was to be expected, I stuck around nevertheless as I was hell bent on winning one of the gate prizes. Though I won nothing I did find something extremely interesting, almost everytime time Jared Martinez said the name David Smith there was a loud round of applause in the auditorium. I said to myself, “this man is a frigging celebrity!”, and its really not hard to understand why.
This man has, almost single-handedly, started to revolutionize the landscape of the financial sector in this country. For years we were stuck with getting returns of 4-5% per YEAR on whatever money we placed in the various banks. We knew it was meager, but we pretty much took it for granted that that was the way it had to be. Then came along David Smith, a man with years of experience in FX trading who formed an ‘investment club’ called OLINT and started giving his members 10% return per MONTH on their investment. Yes, you checked that right, that’s 120% per year. A year or two ago the government cracked down on his operation, stating that he was putting people’s money at risk and that he was not licensed to do what he was doing. The government’s argument was load of crock, but that is what happens when people are ignorant and choose to fight against what they do not understand instead of learning more about it.
Nevertheless I don’t think the actions of the government were based on their care and concern for the people of Jamaica. These new investment clubs were causing an upset. They were ’showing up’ the financial institutions who were giving us cents on the dollar (if so much) from the fruits of our investments. The heads of these institutions continually rub shoulders with the decision makers of this country….I am sure you see where I am going.
Screw the PNP AND the JLP. I say David Smith for President!!!
(I’m kidding about that last bit, but the party in power should really take some advice from that man).
QuoteDislikedI have been a member of Olint going on 3 yrs. David Smith’s Olint is God sent to us.
I have met David, he is a brilliant young man whom unselfishly has used his talent to help us ordinary Jamaicans. There is not one member who is unsatisfied with their returns as most if not all have gotten back their principle. Olint has been contributing factor to the development of Jamaica and its people. There is nothing negative you can say to sway us - as the proof is in our pockets. GOD BLESS DAVID SMITH, HIS FAMILY AND THE OLINT MEMBERS
Olinter
QuoteDislikedOlint and TCI Not Part of Investigation
The US securities watchdog company, "National Futures Association" (NFA) says local investment clubs Olint and TCI are not part of its investigation into foreign exchange trader, I-Trade.
Last week it emerged that a complaint had been filed with the NFA about a failure to report suspicious transactions involving foreign exchange trading.
Director of Communication at the NFA Larry Dykeman told RJR News that its investigations do not involve the local companies.
Last week the independent investigators NFA commenced investigations into a complaint about I-trade, a foreign exchange dealer which had Olint's David Smith as one of its principals.
Mr. Smith withdrew as a principal of I-Trade at the end of December last year.
Mr. Dykeman said the complaint arose because I-Trade did not supervise their complaint officer who should have raised an alarm about some of the account activity.
"What we are saying in this complaint is that, I-Trade as a member of NFA had an anti-money laundering programme in place that should have triggered them when they saw this account activity on behalf of Olint and TCI, they should have filed a suspicious activity report to the Federal government," said Mr. Dykeman.
According to the NFA there could be a logical explanation to the account activity but added that certain transactions should automatically trigger a report to the authorities.
I-trade could be fined if found guilty or the NFA could suspend its membership in the regulatory body.
The NFA's investigation into I-Trade will be completed by the end of the month.
DislikedDavid Smith is rumored to have over $1 billion in assets under management. As such he has money squirreled away all over the world. I Trade FX is just one of many brokers Smith has cash at. It is rumored that he has money at all the big FX brokers in the U.S. The folks over at investforlife.wordpress.com have been doing a great job covering the Olint story and today they printed an email from an anonymous source to Oanda asking them if they have any David Smith accounts and if so have they frozen them:
http://investforlife.wordpress.com/2008/07/10/olintoandatruth/
Naturally, Oanda cannot comment on private customer information. But they state in their email responses that regulators can request customer accounts be frozen. Smith is stating that is why he can’t give customers their money back. Olint customers are worried that Smith is playing the slippery eel and that he is using that as an excuse for non-payment.
My hunch is that regulators are swarming all over David Smith’s accounts right now and he most likely is telling the truth. But that being said will there be enough money in all his accounts to pay back his customers? That remains to be seen…Ignored
DislikedI have most of my money with MB Trading. Should I be concerned that they are below $10M?Ignored
QuoteDislikedThese negative and speculative press reports have put a strain on the management of the fund and the fund has come under more and more scrutiny which has also itself been triggered by the increased encashment demands. The reckless and prejudicial use of National Futures Association (NFA) report which was not against us but only mentioned us en passant, while not providing any evidence whatsoever but speculation, caused, as if by well timed design, further pressure on the fund.
QuoteDislikedNews of the worsening situation at OLINT comes two months after the company unveiled several changes to the way it does business with its clients which included restrictions on the frequency with which members can request payouts.
In addition, clients were told that they would face lengthy delays in getting back their funds.
QuoteDislikedHave you heard of people phoning-in bomb threats to an airport in order to delay their own flights (because they don’t want to miss their plane)? Same thing here, DS knew there would be a massive crowd at his local office today and phone-in the bomb threat!
QuoteDislikedit is now obvious that OLINT is a ponzi scheme. all this due diligence sh*t has been a farse from day one as when u look at the response from OANDA to the club (whoops PONZI) member it is obvious that he has lost or stolen our money. he must be sue and if necessary sent to jail. i would however he be free and pay us something if possible. LOL
NEVER TRUST ANYONE WHO ASKS U TO PRAY FOR A SOLUTION aka Nationwide Interview. DAVID SMITH is a fraud and a spineless *****. Come clean if u are a man
QuoteDislikedDavid though u r a honest person you have made drastic errors in regards to the management of Olint. Though i know that u are honest u have caused great pains to club members bucause of your incompetence in management. You should have stick to trading alone and leave the management to person who could do the job. I know we will get paid but i think u deserve 12 lashes
QuoteDislikedCome clean Mr. Smith. stop propagating rumors, stop passing blame. plain and simple…. STOP THE LIES!
QuoteDislikedDavid Smith it seems that your reputation is important to you. Well sir, you no longer have anything going for you. This last email has broken the camels back. Again you speak without saying anything. YOU ARE FINISHED. Pay the people them what you can, and move on. There are people who will still give you money to trade for them in the future. MOVE ON MAN.
QuoteDislikedJamaica- David Smith, the Fx Chief of Jamaica, founder of OLINT the premier foreign exchange trading investment club has lent his name to iTrade online forex trading platform with this giveaway. The fullpage, full colour newspaper advertisement and the website says: David Smith is adding US$100 of his own money to Live Forex Trading Accounts for Jamaican Residents who open with iTradeFX between November 15th and December 31st this year at gotradejamaica.com. Of course MTI Traders is all over this, they have been the dominant forex trading educator brand in Jamaica. They have from day one marketed themselves as the company that taught David Smith what he knows. So this giveaway should not be suprising.
Purely, what a powerful affiliate marketing programme !Whoever thought this up, is very intuned with the psyche of the jamaican people has a great timing, it’s very Digicel-esque this offering. The question that’s been hounding me though is this, are Jamaicans really interested in learninig to trade forex themselves or do they simply want to understand how it works, so as to legitimise, fortify their decision to become investors in forex trading investment clubs. I’m sure that for every 100 people Market Traders Institute (MTI) trains in their programme, less than 10% actually become forex traders and do so consistently.
QuoteDislikedIn this case, the hearing on the Receiver’s Motion is scheduled for July 14, 2008, and thus, Gray’s Objections should have been filed on or before June 30, 2008. In utter disregard of the Local Rules, Gray waited until 6:11 p.m. on July 3, 2008, to file his Objections and supporting documentation, which totaled approximately 341 pages.
QuoteDislikedThroughout Gray’s Objections there is an underlying theme that Gray is “offering” to turn over to the receivership estate the sum of $3,000,000 so that all the creditors’ claims can be paid in full…
The Receiver views Gray’s “offer” as nothing more than a hallow promise, as Gray is already duty bound to return these funds to the receivership estate. As is highlighted in the Receiver’s first and second reports previously filed with the Court, the Receiver believes that Gray has misappropriated between $8,000,000 to $11,000,000 of FXLQ funds…
QuoteDislikedFinally, Gray also objects to the Receiver’s proposed sale of the FXLQ office equipment, furniture and fixtures, under the theory that there is no reason to sell such equipment. On the contrary, the Receiver can think of no reason to keep the equipment, fixtures and inventory, as the FXLQ offices are vacant, the business operations of FXLQ have been terminated with no future prospects of an on-going operation…
QuoteDislikedMr. Gray never allows the facts to get in the way of a good story.
Mr. Gray proposed to immediately distribute the funds in the customer accounts through IFX Markets Inc. However, as established in the Affidavit of Paul Belogour, attached hereto as Exhibit A, no agreement between Mr. Gray and IFX Markets Inc. to distribute the funds exists.
QuoteDislikedOn July 3, 2008 I had a telephone conversation with Robert Gray of Forex Liquidity. The conversation was brief. Mr. Gray initiated the call and asked me if IFX Markets was interested in the assets of Forex Liquidity. I informed Mr. Gray that IFX Markets would be interested in such a transaction and would request more detailed information if it decided to proceed. I spoke with Robert Gray via telephone again on July 7, 2008 to discuss additional information. On July 9, 2008 I formally informed Robert Gray via email that IFX Markets was not interested in purchasing the assets of Forex Liquidity.
But no sooner had this report been read over the airwaves than David Smith himself called in screaming that he never wrote the email and that it was bogus. Smith said, “I had not written the email. It’s absolutely not true. And if you really think about it do you think my house is that big that I had to email my own wife?”
So who is to be believed? Well, with David Smith’s credibility in tatters my gut tells me the email is legit. But who knows for certain. What is certain is that Olint is El Busto.
Still, no word of any arrests in the Turks and Caicos. The investigation goes on and there will certainly be more to come.
QuoteDislikedThe i-Trade FX platform is accessible at GoTradeJamaica.com. The company, which is registered in Florida, describes itself as 'a market maker in the forex market.'
Smith created the platform, the Financial Gleaner was advised, to allow Jamaicans to test for themselves how trading is done and to demystify the element of how such lucrative returns are possible.
QuoteDislikedDavid Smith, principal in foreign exchange trading company Olint Corporation, is offering a platform to Jamaicans wishing to learn how to trade currency online.
Smith has offered to each person signing up to i-Trade FX, "$100 of his own money" to help kick-start live foreign exchange accounts, a press advertisement blared Wednesday.
However, each trader signing on to test their mettle must also put up $300 - essentially creating a margin account - and must sign up by December 31 to get the extra $100.
The would-be traders would be required to do a minimum of 10 'round-turn' trades per $100 deposited to their accounts, the ad said.
A round-turn trade essentially requires the trader to execute both a purchase and a sale transaction, or vice versa.
"Clients who request a withdrawal of all account funds without meeting the aforementioned requirement," the ad said, "may not withdraw the deposit giveaway amount."
DislikedSo says this article from the Jamaica Gleaner in December of 2007. As part of the $100 promotion that I Trade FX was offering to Jamaican customers via www.gotradejamaica.com Smith is said to have “created the platform” that customers were using in this promotion, which was in fact I Trade FX’s own platform:
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20071207/business/business5.html
The article further states:
The more I read about David Smith the more I see the name of I Trade FX popping up. And the more suspicious it looks for I trade…Ignored
QuoteDislikedNotice to Members Notice to Members I-08-20
July 23, 2008
Attention: Forex Dealer Members
Proposed Changes to Net Capital Requirements for Forex Dealer Members
The CFTC Reauthorization Act of 2008 (Reauthorization Act) increases the adjusted net capital requirement for certain forex counterparty Futures Commission Merchants and Retail Foreign Exchange Dealers to $20 million. This increase is phased in, with the first increase scheduled for 120 days after enactment or at such later date as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) proposes and finalizes rules regarding retail forex transactions. If implemented under the 120 day schedule in the Reauthorization Act, NFA's Forex Dealer Members would be required to have $10 million as of September 19, 2008, $15 million by January 17, 2009, and $20 million by May 16, 2009.
Based on recent discussions with CFTC staff, NFA anticipates that the Commission will not have published final rules effectuating the capital requirement and other provisions of the Reauthorization Act by September 19, 2008. Given that Congress recognized the importance of increased capital requirements, however, NFA's Executive Committee believes that NFA should require its Forex Dealer Members to meet the increased requirements according to the schedule in the legislation. To give Forex Dealer Members sufficient notice, however, NFA plans on making the first increase effective on October 31, 2008 rather than on September 19, 2008.
On July 17, 2008, NFA's Executive Committee recommended that NFA's Board of Directors approve revisions to NFA Financial Requirements Section 11 to implement the increased capital requirements called for under the Reauthorization Act. Under these revisions, Forex Dealer Members will be required to maintain adjusted net capital equal to or in excess of $10 million as of October 31, 2008, $15 million as of January 17, 2009, and $20 million as of May 16, 2009. NFA staff expects that the Board of Directors will adopt these revisions at its meeting on August 21, 2008 and that the Commission will approve them shortly thereafter. We are providing advanced notice of the increase in capital requirements to give Forex Dealer Members sufficient time to make arrangements to come into compliance.
In addition to the increase in the required minimum capital, the Executive Committee also recommended that the Board of Directors approve revisions to NFA Financial Requirements Section 12 regarding the collection of security deposits. Section 12(a) requires that Forex Dealer Members collect and maintain minimum security deposits of either 1% or 4% of the notional value of each forex transaction, depending on the currency. Section 12(b) provides an exemption from this requirement for those Members that consistently maintain at least twice the required adjusted net capital. The revised rule would provide that a Forex Dealer Member that consistently maintains 150% of the required adjusted net capital would be exempt from having to collect the prescribed security deposits. As with the capital requirements, NFA staff anticipates this revision also becoming effective on October 31.
Questions concerning this notice should be directed to Sharon Pendleton, Director, Compliance, ([email protected] or 312-781-1401) or Valerie Kretschmer, Manager, Compliance ([email protected] or 312-781-1290).