Washington, D.C. — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is committed to helping protect Americans from fraud, and today the CFTC added another 45 unregistered foreign entities to its Registration Deficient List (RED List).

"For nearly 10 years, the CFTC has listed entities on the RED List that have the potential to do irreparable financial harm to unsuspecting Americans,” said Director of Enforcement Ian McGinley. “It is for this reason, we strongly encourage all customers to check the RED List before they trade because they may have little or no protections if they choose to trade with unregistered firms that operate outside the U.S.”

Launched in 2015 [See CFTC Press Release No. 7224 -15], the CFTC’s RED List now contains more than 240 entities. A firm is added to the RED List when the CFTC determines, from investigative leads and questions from the public, that it is not registered with the CFTC and appears to be acting in a capacity that requires registration, such as trading binary options, foreign currency (forex), or other products.

The Commodity Exchange Act generally requires intermediaries in the derivatives industry to register with the CFTC. An “intermediary” is a person or firm that acts on behalf of another person in connection with trading futures, swaps, or options. Depending on the nature of its activities, an intermediary may also be subject to various financial, disclosure, reporting, and recordkeeping requirements. There are some exceptions or exemptions where an intermediary does not require registration; however, entities on the RED List do not meet the criteria for an exception or exemption.

The RED List is circulated to financial industry partners, including other regulators, consumer groups, industry participants, self-regulatory organizations, exchanges, and industry associations. It complements registration information provided by the National Futures Association.

The public is a great source of tips for entities that should be on the RED List. Leads are accepted at [email protected].

The following 45 new foreign entities have been added to the complete RED List.

The Division of Enforcement staff members responsible for compiling the RED List are Erica Bodin, Michelle Bougas, and Rick Glaser. CFTC's Office of Customer Education and Outreach produces and helps promote the list.

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Binary Options Customer Alert and Fraud Advisory

The CFTC and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a Binary Options Consumer Alert to warn about fraudulent schemes involving binary options and their trading platforms. The alert warns customers that the perpetrators of these unlawful schemes typically refuse to credit customer accounts, deny fund reimbursement, commit identity theft, and manipulate software to generate losing trades.

The CFTC also strongly urges the public to verify a company’s registration with the CFTC before committing funds. If unregistered, a customer should be wary of providing funds to that entity.

A company’s registration status can be found using NFA BASIC.

Customers can report suspicious activities or information, such as possible violations of commodity trading laws, to the CFTC Division of Enforcement via a Toll-Free Hotline 866-FON-CFTC (866-366-2382) or file a tip or complaint online.