CTmatador Review: The Broker Slammed for Trading Fraud

In the unlikely event that you’re still unaware of CTmatador’s reputation, we’ll help you out. Several regulators slammed this broker for offering trading services unsupervised.

If that’s not enough, they do so for two years despite all the struggle. Read our detailed CTmatador review for more information.

Is CTmatador an Unregulated Forex Trading Scam?

Yes, CTmatador is unregulated, and it’s surely a scam. The company registered its business in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, trading under Wing Holdings Ltd. However, the issue is that SVG doesn’t supervise the Forex market. In fact, according to the latest directive, from March 2023, FSA doesn’t allow companies without regulation from a third country to even set up their business.

Since CTmatador was registered back in 2021, they’re still running from offshore. And they’re still unlicensed. As a retail trader, you cannot file a complaint with the authorities or get money back from regulators such as FCA, BaFin, or CONSOB if something goes wrong.

Finally, CTmatador provided us with addresses from the UK, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. At the same time, they also offer a Swedish support phone number. It’s clear they’re targeting EU customers without complying with any regulations.

Warning Issued by Financial Authorities

In June 2022, the Belgian authority, FSMA, issued an official warning against CTmatador. According to it, this is a fraudulent online trading platform soliciting investors without authorization. This warning was later republished in Spain, Italy, Estonia, Bulgaria, and the Netherlands.

In November of the same year, the Swiss FINMA issued its own alert. Since the company advertises as Swiss-based, this doesn’t surprise us. FINMA wanted to warn investors that such a domicile has never entered their commercial register.

Where Does the Broker Operate?

CTmatador has been active for several years now; that’s quite clear. And we already know that they want European investors onboard. Here’s the list of countries they target the most:

• Sweden,
• Switzerland,
• Norway,
• Netherlands,
• Finland.

Each and every one of these is an EEA zone member state, meaning the company must work according to ESMA laws. And yet, CTmatador, just like Climax Prime, doesn’t.

CTmatador Trading Software

Well, let us disappoint you once again. CTmatador doesn’t say much about its trading software, except that it’s allegedly MetaTrader. Since they don’t allow access to it before paying a minimum deposit, we won’t comment much.

We will, however, tell you that they most likely offer a plain WebTrader that can never be compared to third-party software such as MetaTrader or cTrader. Scammers often falsely advertise MT to attract consumers due to its popularity.

Both MT4 and MT5 have millions of users and offer a higher level of fund protection. Imagine that your broker disappears, and the website is shut down. Their browser-based platform disappears as well, right? With a third-party terminal, you can always access your account and have proof of your current balance.

Additionally, both MT and cTrader support advanced features such as algo trading and social trading while providing you with dedicated mobile apps.

What Can I Trade with CTmatador?

Okay, now that we’ve elaborated on their useless platform, you can choose not to trade. Yet, if you still wish to, you can access the following five asset classes:

• Forex – EUR/USD, EUR/HKD, GBP/AUD
• Commodities – gold, silver, natural gas
• Indices – FTSE100, DAX30, CAC40
• Shares – Intel, Netflix, Asus
• Cryptocurrencies – BCH, USDT, USDC

Leverage, Spreads, and Fees

The brokerage didn’t list any account types or give us any information about trading costs. In addition, we don’t know what the maximum leverage is.

Note that most Tier 1 regulators impose a limit of 1:30 or 1:50 due to market volatility. Yet, offshore firms often offer ten or even 100 times higher than that, waiting for you to lose your money.

Can a Trader Use a Demo Account?

The company advertises a risk-free Demo account. However, once we wanted to register for it, we were prompted to make a deposit immediately.

Therefore, this is just another trick to get ahold of your personal details. Once you provide the scammer with your phone and email, you can expect constant calls and offers until you finally cave in and deposit, just to make them quiet.

The minimum deposit with CTmatador is relatively high, standing at $2,500. Most legit trading firms have micro accounts starting at as low as $10.

How Can I Withdraw My Profit?

CTmatador doesn’t mention payouts or withdrawals. They say you must fill out the deposit form before paying the money, but there’s not a single mention of how to get your profit from the account.

Presumably, by now, you know that getting a payout is nearly impossible. You can ask and request, but one scammer that’s not afraid of even regulatory warnings won’t oblige.

We know nothing about available payment methods, but we can assume you’ll be approached to transfer crypto. Due to their nature, digital coins are harder to trace and reverse than traditional payment options like credit cards or bank transfers.

I Was Scammed by CTmatador; What Should I Do?

If you were one of the unlucky victims of the CTmatador scam, you have to request your money back immediately. Suppose you’ve used your credit card; you can request a chargeback within up to 540 days.

In case you use a crypto wallet, there’s a way to track and trace your coins and collect legal evidence. Therefore, don’t hesitate to contact our staff and get more details about all the recovery procedures. We’re waiting to hear your story! Book a free consultation now!