The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore Police Force (SPF) announced that access in Singapore to the websites of two overseas online trading platforms, Octa and XM, will be blocked after they were found to be operating in breach of the Securities and Futures Act 2001 by offering and marketing regulated trading services to customers in Singapore without the required licence. Police investigations found that Octa and XM offered trading in leveraged foreign exchange, commodities, indices and equities. MAS and SPF highlighted that a capital markets services licence is required to deal in capital markets products, including securities and leveraged foreign exchange trading, and that this prohibition can apply to entities operating outside Singapore where services are targeted at Singapore persons or there is substantial Singapore usage. The Octa platform is operated by Octa Markets Ltd and Uni Fin Invest, purportedly incorporated in the Union of Comoros and Mauritius, while the XM platform is operated by XM Global Limited, purportedly incorporated in Belize, and none of these entities holds the requisite licence. The website content was assessed as prohibited under the Internet Code of Practice, and Singapore residents, including users with active accounts, will be unable to access the sites via Singapore-based internet access service providers. Blocking will take effect from 20 June 2025. SPF will continue working with MAS to block access to other unregulated overseas online trading platforms, and the authorities directed consumers to use regulated platforms listed in MAS’ Financial Institutions Directory.

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