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Proposed NFA Capital Requirement

  • #921
  • Jul 8, 2008 9:54pm Jul 8, 2008 9:54pm
this cat don't look so good

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magaz...CROSSROADS.asp
If I Go Broke Trying Then I Will die happy.
  • #922
  • Jul 9, 2008 10:16am Jul 9, 2008 10:16am
Quoting ck_itrade
It'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.
In fairness I have not said people should pull their funds, yet

I'm awaiting further information as is everyone else, in particular, I Trade FX's response to the NFA complaint. My only question for you CK is why on earth was I Trade FX involved with this person to begin with? The Jamaican government put a cease and desist order on him in early 2006. You guys knew he was in a bit of trouble and still proceeded to list him as a principal in March of 2007:
http://www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet/...d=0375626&rn=Y

This looks very bad. What gives?
  • #923
  • Jul 9, 2008 11:17am Jul 9, 2008 11:17am
Quoting Moe
this cat don't look so good

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magaz...CROSSROADS.asp
These 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?
  • #924
  • Jul 9, 2008 12:08pm Jul 9, 2008 12:08pm
Quoting forexsavior
These 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?
i suspect his trading isn't doing to well.
If I Go Broke Trying Then I Will die happy.
  • #925
  • Jul 9, 2008 12:46pm Jul 9, 2008 12:46pm
Google “David Smith” and “forex” and you come up with hundreds of results. The man is the George Soros of Jamaica and reading through some of the material on him either you love him or you hate him.

On the Internet you can find plenty of testimonials from customers who back up his claims that his trading club “Olin” was routinely getting 10% monthly returns. But I give you this blog post from “All Messed Up – My Life” to give you a front row seat at a David Smith love fest: http://www.normalontheoutside.com/?p=134

Quote
David 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).

Such is the effect that Smith has on his followers. Indeed, below this blog post there are over 100 comments, many of them like this:

Quote
I 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

So what got Olinter so riled up? Well, many of the people commenting claimed that Smith is merely operating a Ponzi scheme. In fact, the International Monetary Fund recommended that Jamaica close all its unregulated investment schemes due to the concern many bankers have about ponzi schemes in Jamaica.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20080704T020000-0500_137465_OBS_CLOSE_UNREGULATED_INVESTMENT_SCHEMES__WARNS_IMF.asp

This article that came out last week in the Jamaica Observer states there are 35 such known schemes in operation on the island today and that their collapse could wreak havoc on the island reminiscent to the Albanian Ponzi Scheme revolution of 1997:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_unrest_in_Albania

In fact, one major investment scheme has been exposed has already been exposed in Jamaica, Cash Plus.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20080416T010000-0500_134601_OBS_CASH_PLUS_DRAMA____CARLOS_HILL_AND_CO_ACCUSED_CHARGED_WITH_FRAUD.asp

Only time will tell if David Smith’s Olint is a Ponzi scheme too. And if it is it could have far reaching consequences well outside the happy confines of Jamaica.
  • #926
  • Jul 9, 2008 4:25pm Jul 9, 2008 4:25pm
The NFA has come out and clarified that it is not investigating any of the transactions in question by Olint or TCI. They are merely citing I Trade FX for not filing any anti-money laundering notices in regards to the transactions in question. Jamaican media is all over this one: http://www.radiojamaica.com/content/view/9731/26/

Quote
Olint 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.
  • #927
  • Jul 11, 2008 10:39am Jul 11, 2008 10:39am
David 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…
  • #928
  • Jul 11, 2008 10:49am Jul 11, 2008 10:49am
Quoting forexsavior
David 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…
to have over $1billion in custormer funds he must of had some big investors, i like to see how he was supporting his life style, if that money came from management fee's or did he use his customer money.
If I Go Broke Trying Then I Will die happy.
  • #929
  • Jul 14, 2008 11:13am Jul 14, 2008 11:13am
The new net capital numbers are out. Here is the link to access the report:
http://www.cftc.gov/stellent/groups/public/@financialdataforfcms/documents/file/fcmdata0508.pdf

The following firms have net capital below $10 million

Advanced Markets $5,017,000
Bacera $5,387,000
MG Financial $6,001,000
Forex Club $7,380,000
Hotspot $7,843,000
Friedberg Mercantile $8,167,000
CMC $8,426,000
Ikon $8,462,000
MB Trading $8,660,000
Easy Forex $8,662,000
IFX $9,141,000

In particular you will notice that three firms are far below the upcoming increase to $10 million. Advanced Markets, Bacera and Money Garden. In fact, they are struggling just to meet the current $5 million net capital requirement with Advanced Markets a scant $17,000 above the current law! That kind of capitalization does not inspire much confidence and traders really need to beware doing business with them.

The following firms have net capital below $20 million

GFS Forex $10,829,000
Alpari $11, 668,000
ODL $15,182,000
I Trade FX $15,828,000
FX Solutions $18,088,000
CMS Forex $19,306,000

The following firms have net capital above $20 million

PFG $20,275,000
Interbank FX $22,980,000
Gain Capital $44,293,000
GFT Forex $58,304,000
FXCM $70,794,000
Oanda $164,256,000

As always conduct your due diligence and make sure the firm you are trading with will be able to comply with the new law.
  • #930
  • Jul 14, 2008 12:44pm Jul 14, 2008 12:44pm
I have most of my money with MB Trading. Should I be concerned that they are below $10M?
  • #931
  • Jul 14, 2008 12:48pm Jul 14, 2008 12:48pm
Quoting FrankTheTank
I have most of my money with MB Trading. Should I be concerned that they are below $10M?
In the short term most of the firms below 10 million will be able to continue. For this year the Savior's main concern is Advanced, Bacera and MG Financial. These three are the ones I'm advising customers to avoid until they can shore up their finances.
  • #932
  • Jul 14, 2008 2:56pm Jul 14, 2008 2:56pm
The situation at Olint is deteriorating rapidly as David Smith has shuttered a local office in Jamaica that he says was the subject of a bomb threat while his fund suffers an apparent bank run. In a grim letter to shareholders Olint states:
http://investforlife.wordpress.com/2008/07/14/olint-office-closed/

Quote
These 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.

Jamaican News is keeping up with the story and Radio Jamaica states:
http://www.radiojamaica.com/content/view/9930/26/

Quote
News 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.

David Smith is spinning hard but regardless, it appears that Olint is doomed. Again the question is will there be enough money to go around or was this a Ponzi scheme all along?

And if it was a Ponzi scheme did I Trade FX, where David Smith was once a leading principal, knowingly or unknowingly help facilitate it?

To their credit, I Trade FX has been desperately trying to shake this guy like a bad cold. But as Winston Churchill once said of Italy’s disastrous alliance with Germany during World War II, “How much easier is to join bad companions, than to shake them off…”
  • #933
  • Jul 14, 2008 6:00pm Jul 14, 2008 6:00pm
And we aren’t going to take this anymore! So sayeth the investors of Olint who are pouring onto the Internet in Jamaica to rage against David Smith’s Machine. Here is just a sampling: http://investforlife.wordpress.com/2...osed/#comments

Quote
Have 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!


Quote
it 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

Quote
David 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


Quote
Come clean Mr. Smith. stop propagating rumors, stop passing blame. plain and simple…. STOP THE LIES!

Quote
David 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.

That about sums it up. Pay the people and move on man (of course when you say “man” be sure to pronounce man with the proper Jamaican accent.) This is yet another lesson on what can happen to you when you give your money to someone who ain’t got no license man.
  • #934
  • Jul 15, 2008 11:15am Jul 15, 2008 11:15am
Browsing the web I came across this article on a very unique marketing ploy that I Trade FX was using to attract clients in Jamaica last November:
http://www.siliconcaribe.com/2007/11/30/david-smiths-olint-partners-with-itradefx-in-a-us100-giveaway-to-jamaicans/

Quote
Jamaica- 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.

David Smith was depositing $100 of his own money into individual I Trade FX accounts? This is highly irregular to say the least and while I have heard of plenty of companies that give signup bonuses to customers I have not heard of individuals doing this for customers.

What it indicates is that Smith was not some passive, minority shareholder in I Trade FX. It sounds like he was pretty involved in the firm judging from this promotion.
  • #935
  • Jul 15, 2008 5:29pm Jul 15, 2008 5:29pm
Congratulations to the customers of FXLQ who are on the verge of being made whole, an unusually rare occurrence when a forex dealer goes bankrupt. Here is hoping some of that luck rubs off on the poor sods at Olint.

But the customers of FXLQ won’t have Rob Gray to thank, that’s for sure. At the last second Gray tried to scuttle the Receiver’s plan to have GFT and Ikon buy the customers of his formerly disgraced and dismembered firm.

Gray said “NYET!” to the sale in a formal court objection (someone please explain how Gray is able to strut around in public, and before a court no less, after faking a $35 million bond?)

The Receiver then proceeded to obliterate Gray in court in a rollicking motion filled with such goodies as this: http://www.robbevans.com/pdf/forexlqreplyreceiver01.pdf

Quote
In 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.


“Utter disregard” for the rules? That’s our Robbie boy!

Quote
Throughout 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…


So where is this mythological $3 million being kept hidden? You don’t happen to have a safe house in the Turks & Caicos do you Robbie boy?

Quote
Finally, 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…


Ouch. It is finally hitting Robbie boy that FXLQ is DONE. Finished. Kaput. Bereft of life it rests in peace. But he can’t let go. One can picture him clinging to the fax machine as a couple surly movers try to haul it out of the office.

But my favorite little nugget has to be this statement found in Ikon’s motion to the court:
http://www.robbevans.com/pdf/forexlqreplyikonglblmkt01.pdf

Quote
Mr. 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.


Taking a quick look at the IFX affidavit Mr. Belogour says:

Quote
On 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.


Yet there Robbie boy was telling the court on July 3rd, only a few hours after getting a vague “sure we’re interested” shrug of the shoulders from IFX , that IFX markets could be used to distribute customer funds.

Classic Gray. Just keeps on Bullsh*tting them to the end. And it certainly is the end. Oh Robbie boy the pipes, the pipes, are calling…
  • #936
  • Edited 11:02am Jul 16, 2008 10:39am | Edited 11:02am
Yesterday the Turks and Caicos Government froze the assets of David Smith and raided his home and place of business. Armed with a search warrant from the Supreme Court the Financial Crimes Unit of the Government swooped into action, grabbing computers, files and other knick knacks as their investigation of him reaches an apparent climax. Radio Jamaica is reporting that in the end Smith could face criminal charges: http://www.radiojamaica.com/content/view/10004/26/

Worries are growing that the collapse of Olint could have repercussions across Jamaica as the investment scheme is said to have $600 million of Jamaican money tied up in it. Good Grief. Now we are at the point where forex hucksters can crash a nation’s entire economy?

Invest for Life has the full story: http://investforlife.wordpress.com/2008/07/15/olint-assets-frozen/

On a Separate Note: Sources are telling me that the I Trade FX “David Smith $100 Bonus” promotion last winter lasted only a few days before it got shelved. I Trade FX should be releasing their official response to the NFA complaint in the next few weeks.

Stay Tuned…
  • #937
  • Jul 17, 2008 10:46am Jul 17, 2008 10:46am
“I am now indemnifying all the directors and employees as I am the only one that was aware of these activities and I am now at this stage unable to pay out and am making this proposal to you.” – David Smith, per Nationwide News.

It sure is beginning to look like Olint was a Ponzi scheme. A news report is stating that David Smith admitted the following in a leaked email obtained by Nationwide News: http://boomp3.com/listen/1741m06o4_f/olint-broke-provider-investforlife

  1. The club is broke and most likely bankrupt
  2. The older investors got their money out while the newer investors are the ones “carrying the losses.” Is that not the very definition of a Ponzi scheme?
  3. He overstated his rates of return to club members.
  4. The collapse of the fund was due to; competition from competitors, regulatory scrutiny, shoddy bookkeeping.
  5. In particular Smith is blaming the Jamaican Government for raiding his company in 2006 as that loss of his records apparently precipitated an accounting fiasco resulting in “double payments” to some members. He then states that he didn’t report these “double payments” to his customers because he was afraid of a bank run which he once again blamed the Jamaican Government for starting.
  6. Smith was only trading 50% of the funds while accounting for 100%.
  7. He closes stating that Olint was “not a Ponzi scheme” and to give him another year to make it all back.


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.

  • #938
  • Jul 17, 2008 3:58pm Jul 17, 2008 3:58pm
So 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

Quote
The 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.


The article further states:

Quote
David 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."


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…
  • #939
  • Jul 17, 2008 5:42pm Jul 17, 2008 5:42pm
Quoting forexsavior
So 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…
It's not even I Trade's platform, it is licensed out to them by ACT Forex.
  • #940
  • Jul 23, 2008 6:49pm Jul 23, 2008 6:49pm
It looks like another month was added. The first increase to 10 million will probably start on October 31st, 2008.

Today's Email from the NFA:
Quote
Notice 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).
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