The financial regulator of Malaysia, the Securities Commission (SC), has recently added yet another batch of crypto and FX websites to its blacklisted sites. The reasoning for this batch, in particular, is due to these sites not having the authorizations needed to operate within the country.
The Blacklist Only Expanding
Midtou Global was the first to be named by the SC, including its associated brands: Midtou Global Financial and MFG Global. These brands were accused of enacting capital market activities without the relevant licensing. Midtou Financials stands as Midtou Global Financial Group’s FX trading arm. Midtou Global Financial Group, in turn, is based in Indonesia, and is subsequently regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory of Indonesia (BAPPEBTI).
While it’s a healthy change of pace to see a company at least regulated by some other country, the Indonesian authorization of Midtou doesn’t hold passport rights for Malaysia. As such, the company isn’t allowed to offer its products within the country.
In other news, Actionnode, a digital asset investment firm, had also been red-flagged by the SC. As a result, the company has been put on its caution list of unlicensed operators.
Regulation Needs To Be Enacted
The SC has regularly advised citizens not to make use of the services or investment opportunities offered by companies that do not hold the proper authorization by the SEC. Simply put, if the country can’t regulate a company, it cannot protect its citizens under its laws.
Malaysia’s case is a unique one, as the country had issued out warnings about the matter about established exchanges, as well, such as FintechFX, Binance, and others. All of these firms do indeed have various investment services operating within the country, but deemed themselves as not needing the regulation of it.
Malaysia Gearing Towards Digital Banking
Should any company engage in regulated activities without the applicable registration and/or licensing from the SC, these individuals are committing a crime. Should they be convicted for violation of the Capital Markets and Services Act of 2007, they could be fined or face up to a decade in prison.
Malaysia itself is working hard to embrace digital banks, all the while updating its blacklist with a number of offshore firms offering Fintech and payment services. As much as five licenses will be issued by the central bank of Malaysia for digital banks once the industry regulations have been put in place.
