Unlicensed Investment Operators: Regulatory Warnings

Israel's Securities Authority took the unusual step this week of issuing a public warning against an Israeli citizen operating unlicensed investment services from Dubai. According to the regulator's findings, the individual offers portfolio management services in Hebrew to Israeli clients, charges performance fees, and directs customers to open accounts with a foreign trading platform that lacks regulatory oversight and holds no license from the Israeli authority, activities prohibited under Israeli law.

The operator, who relocated to the United Arab Emirates, continues actively targeting Hebrew-speaking audiences through a dedicated website, social media channels, and active communities on Discord and Telegram. His Telegram group, called Saving Capital, has approximately 4,900 members, where he regularly posts links leading directly to the GODO trading platform, promoting it as "the best broker there is", referrals for which he receives payment for each new signup.

Dubai (Dubai Government Ministry of Communications)

The Securities Authority emphasizes the enormous risks associated with unregulated trading platforms, noting that many function essentially as casinos where clients face massive odds of losing money. Official data shows that approximately 84% of active clients on regulated platforms in Israel lose their investments. The risks multiply when dealing with foreign, unregulated platforms where investor oversight and protection are nonexistent.

The authority stresses that such activity constitutes a serious violation of securities law and warns the public to avoid investing through unauthorized entities. In recent weeks, several fraud cases have been exposed in the haredi community, with numerous investors losing substantial sums following promises of lucrative investments that turned out to be scams.

Following the authority's warning, according to a report in Haaretz, the operator posted defiant videos to his Telegram channel. In one, he mocked the regulatory action, saying cynically: "Apparently I'm not doing enough, at least they could say I'm a crook.." He added with a laugh: "People, from the Securities Authority, they know who the king of trading is... and they know exactly what we're doing, boxes of cash every day".

The authority urges the public to exercise extreme caution, always verify that financial operators hold valid licenses, and notes that a secure, anonymous hotline exists for reporting suspicious financial activity. The regulator emphasizes that investing through unregulated platforms exposes investors to significant risks, including total loss of investment with no possibility of compensation or legal recourse.