The FIC busts Banxso

[Nom Chompsky]

The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) has ordered three banks to freeze all the bank accounts of the controversial contracts-for-difference (CFD) trading platform Banxso. The FIC believes the company is a “criminal enterprise designed to defraud innocent members of the public”.

In court papers, the FIC states that it issued the instructions to Standard Bank, Nedbank, and Capitec because it had “reasonable grounds for suspecting that the transactions in Banxso’s bank accounts were the proceeds of unlawful activity”.

Cape Town-based Banxso is registered with the FSCA and has a high public profile through sponsorships of national soccer team Bafana Bafana and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champion Dricus du Plessis.


In February, Moneyweb revealed Banxso was a significant beneficiary of deep fake advertisements, which saw celebrity billionaires such as Elon Musk, Johann Rupert, and Nicky Oppenheimer market investment products promising monthly profits of R300 000 for a once-off investment of R4 700.


A company, Immediate Matrix, produced these ads.

At the time, and in court papers, Banxso denied any link to Immediate Matrix and claimed it was the victim of hackers.

It also claimed in the court papers that it received only R14.1 million from people who reacted to the ads and that they were refunded.


However, since Moneyweb’s first article was published, nearly 200 people have contacted Moneyweb and claimed they have collectively lost almost R110 million. Virtually all reacted to the fake ads.


This may be the tip of the iceberg, as Banxso claims in court papers that it has 7 320 active clients.

The FIC busts Banxso

Watchdog orders banks to freeze Banxso's accounts as it believes it is a 'criminal enterprise'.

www.moneyweb.co.za