Judge slams Banxso

CFD: TRADING PLATFORM PUT UNDER PROVISIONAL LIQUIDATION

- Ryk van Niekerk

The High Court in the Western Cape has placed CFD trading platform Banxso under provisional liquidation.

Judge André le Grange described the company as operating a fraudulent and predatory business model that preyed on vulnerable investors.

The application was brought by pensioner Carol Margaret Wentzel, 60, who lost more than R500,000 of her retirement savings.

Wentzel argued that Banxso's activities were unlawful and void under South African law, and that the company was a criminal enterprise masquerading as a financial services provider.

Several other individuals who lost money at the hands of Banxso also joined the application.

In his ruling, Judge Le Grange wrote: "On a conspectus of all the evidence, I am satisfied that Wentzel has established on a prima facie basis that Banxso does not operate within the confines of the law, and its business model is illegal."