CMA investment scam cautions and broker checks

Scope

This list covers firms the CMA has named in its public cautions. The CMA publishes them as press releases and public notices, often one notice naming many firms, so several rows below share one source. Look there for anything newer than this page.

To check a firm that is not listed here, use the steps below and the CMA guide.

How to check a forex broker before you deposit

Five checks, in this order. A firm that fails any one of them is not one to fund.

• Find the exact company name in the broker's client agreement, not on its marketing pages.
• Look that company up on the CMA's own list of licensees, reached by typing the address yourself.
• Match the licence number, check the licence is current, and read its category.
• Contact the firm only through the details on the register, never through a number or link sent to you.
• Search this page and the regulator's notices for the firm's name and its web addresses.

If the register entry is missing, names a different company, or shows a licence that does not cover what you are being sold, stop and ask the firm in writing.

A worked example of the first two checks, on a broker we review that holds a CMA licence and is not named in the CMA caution below: its client agreement names more than one company in its group, and a register search for the brand returns the licensed one with its number.

How these scams work

Five patterns dominate the alerts. Recognising them matters more than memorising names.

Unlicensed brokers and schemes. A firm offers forex, CFD or other investments to Kenyan residents without a CMA licence or approval.

False claims of a licence. A firm says it is licensed when it is not, or names a licence that belongs to someone else.

Clone and impersonation scams. Scammers copy a licensed firm's name and real licence number. Reach a broker only through the details on the regulator's register.

Account managers and signal groups. A stranger on social media or a messaging app offers to trade for you, or to sell signals, and asks you to deposit with a firm they name.

Advance-fee scams. A demand for a "release fee" or "tax" before a withdrawal is paid. No genuine broker or regulator charges you to release your own money.

The warning list

Most recent first. Type tags the pattern above, and Source links the CMA's own notice. We also keep a dated copy of the notice, below the table, in case the original is moved.

The CMA's caution of 11 September 2026 named 15 entities that it said "are operating unlawfully and fraudulently soliciting funds from the public", and said they are under active investigation by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), working with the CMA and other law enforcement agencies.

"Just Markets" is listed exactly as the CMA wrote it. From the notice we cannot say which business it refers to, and we make no claim about any firm trading under a similar name.

Crypto and virtual-asset platforms

Crypto platforms come under a different law from forex brokers: the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025, in force since 4 November 2025. Under it the CMA licenses crypto exchanges and brokers, and the Central Bank of Kenya licenses stablecoin issuers and crypto payment services. The licensing rules, the Virtual Asset Service Providers Regulations, 2026, were published on 22 July 2026.

When we checked on 3 November 2026, neither regulator published a list of licensed crypto firms. The CMA's register of licensees had no crypto list, and the two regulators' joint notice of 18 November 2025 said they had licensed none. Treat a crypto platform's claim to be licensed in Kenya as unproven until a regulator lists it, and ask the regulator, using the contacts in that notice, before you deposit.

What to do if you think you've been scammed

Act fast, and do not send any more money.

• Stop paying. Never pay a "release fee" to unlock a withdrawal.
• Contact your bank or mobile-money provider now to stop or dispute the payments.
• Keep everything: screenshots, chats, receipts, transaction codes and URLs.
• Report it to your nearest Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) office, as the CMA asked people affected by the firms in its 11 September 2026 caution to do.
• If a licensed firm is involved, complain to it first, then to the CMA.
• Report the firm to the CMA. See how to check a licence.
• Beware the follow-up "recovery" scam: anyone charging upfront to get your money back is a second fraud.

Data sources and provenance

This is a point-in-time compilation, not a substitute for the register. If an entry is out of date, contact us.

• CMA: compiled from its public cautions and notices. Today's rows come from its caution of 11 September 2026, read and captured on 23 Oct 2026.
• Press reports: used only where a regulator's page could not be read, with the date marked "(reported)". No row relies on one today.