Belgium Financial Services and Markets Authority warns North Star Management Japan and Part Capital are not authorised to provide investment services in Belgium

The Belgium Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) issued a public warning about North Star Management Japan (northstarjp.com) and Part Capital (partcapital.com), stating that both firms are not authorised to provide investment services in Belgium and may be operating as ‘boiler rooms’. It advised consumers not to respond to any financial services offers from these entities and not to transfer money to any accounts they provide. The FSMA described boiler room fraud as unsolicited approaches, often by telephone, promoting shares or other financial products and services such as management accounts, term deposit accounts, investment advice, crowdfunding investments and similar offerings. It highlighted common tactics including an initial small investment shown as profitable, pressure to make additional investments, and subsequent obstacles to withdrawing funds, sometimes coupled with demands for further payments. To reduce the risk of fraud, the FSMA recommended verifying a provider’s identity and authorisation via the FSMA’s ‘Check your provider’ lists, reviewing FSMA and foreign regulator and International Organization of Securities Commissions warnings, and using the FSMA site search and its list of unlawful operators. It also urged caution around cold calls, requests to transfer funds to unrelated jurisdictions (often to accounts with banks based in Asia), disproportionate return promises, claims of authorisation without verification, ‘cloned firms’, and payout conditions tied to extra payments or taxes.