Based on the information provided on the website operated by GS4trade Invest Limited (gs4trade.com) and the information and documents available to BaFin, there are grounds which indicate that the company is conducting banking business/providing financial services in the Federal Republic of Germany without the required authorisation.

Under the KWG, authorisation is required in order to conduct banking business or provide financial services in Germany. Some companies do so without the necessary authorisation, however. Information on whether a certain company has been authorised by BaFin can be found in BaFin’s database of companies.

BaFin, the German Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt) and the German state criminal police offices (Landeskriminalämter) recommend that anyone seeking to invest money online should exercise the utmost caution and do the necessary research beforehand in order to avoid becoming the victim of fraud.

According to information that BaFin has received since its first warning, callers claim that GS4trade Invest Limited is registered with the British Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This is not true. The callers pretend that GS4trade Invest Limited is connected to a company with a similar name that actually is supervised by the FCA. The callers then suggest that the investors carry out certain financial transfers. Following these transfers, the investors are to report a loss event to an insurance company. According to the callers, this course of action makes use of a loophole in the law. BaFin makes it expressly clear that this is not true. In fact, it is likely to be insurance fraud.