BOND REVIEW STATEMENT
Statement regarding the defamatory and false statements made by the Bond Review website regarding OSMAI FX.
Please see below for a point-by-point rebuttal and fact-check of the claims made in the Bond Review article on OSMAI FX.
OSMAI has applied to Google to have the article removed on the grounds that it is defamatory and manifestly false. We have tried to engage with the writer to allay their concerns, but we have not been successful in arranging a call or a meeting to address the matter.
Bond Review Statement:
We review Osmai FX – forex Ponzi scam claiming 41% per year returns.
Fact Check: False
Ponzi schemes can only work if new investors send money to the architect of the scam so that it can be used to pay the “returns” of previous investors. Investors in OSMAI FX hold their own funds in their own account with a regulated broker. There is no possible way that it can be a Ponzi scheme. NOTE - 41.4% per annum in the average growth Hal Robb achieved from 2015 - 2020.
Bond Review Statement:
Osmai claims to be registered in the British Virgin Islands as Osmai Management Limited. I was not able to verify this as the BVI company register is not freely searchable. In any case, basic incorporation is worthless for due diligence purposes.
Fact Check: True
OSMAI Management is registered in the British Virgin Islands and the company register is not freely searchable. Whether or not the investor feels this is relevant is up to them. OSMAI do not control or hold any money nor direct any investment strategy. The location of the company has no bearing on the investor at all.
Bond Review Statement:
Osmai claims to be run by a Hal Robb and provides a picture. There is a Hal Robb who has had a profile on quora.com for about three years, with the same picture, answering innocuous questions about his home country of Thailand and forex trading, but I’m very dubious it’s the same guy as that Hal Robb gives his company name as “East West Trading” rather than Osmai. Identity theft is a real possibility.
Fact Check: False
No claim is made that Hal Robb “runs” OSMAI. Anyone who wants to know about Hal and his trading strategies can arrange a call with him and also check out his FB Live sessions on the OSMAI Facebook Group.
Bond Review Statement:
Osmai’s website also features a video by some schmuck who introduces himself as “Ben Hawkes” before reading out Osmai’s advert in front of a green screen. “Hawkes” does not claim a role in the company and appears to be a paid actor.
Fact Check: False
Ben Hawkes is not a paid actor, and the video was filmed in a garden, not in front of a green screen.
Bond Review Statement:
One thing that can be verified is that Osmai’s claim to have been running since 2016 is nonsense. Osmai’s Facebook page and website were registered in December 2020. There is no evidence that Osmai existed before this date.
Fact Check: False
No such claim is made. Hal’s trading results from 2016 are quoted to provide potential investors with a good view of his trading history.
Bond Review Statement:
Importantly, there remains no public disclosure by Osmai of who actually runs and controls the business. Due to its registration in the British Virgin Islands, details of who owns the company are not publicly available.
Fact Check: True
Whether or not the investor feels this is relevant is up to them. OSMAI do not control or hold any money nor direct any investment strategy. The location of the company has no bearing on the investor at all.
Bond Review Statement:
Even if Osmai’s 42% returns were real, it would still be breaking the law. Osmai’s Facebook adverts and website represent a financial promotion. Issuing financial promotions in the UK requires authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority. Osmai FX is not authorised by the FCA and does not disclose registration with any other financial regulator.
Fact Check: False
OSMAI FX has taken advice from a suitably qualified compliance consultant. There are numerous exemptions within The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001. We work under a clear set of guidelines to ensure that marketing communications are written so as to be compliant with COB 4 rules.
Bond Review Statement:
The only reason for Osmai FX to promote itself illegally instead of applying for FCA authorisation is if its fantastical returns don’t exist.
Fact Check: False
As above, the promotions in question are not illegal and the results are verifiable through MyFXBook or by arranging communication with Hal and/or with a present client. All results are sent direct from IC Markets to the client. Neither OSMAI (nor Hal) have any opportunity, were it to be taken, to influence the data a client receives about trading results.
Bond Review Statement:
As Osmai FX has no magic strategy generating returns of 42% per year, any returns to investors will either be illusory (“numbers on a screen”) or, if real money is paid into an investor’s account, this will be funded by the investors’ own money or that of others, making Osmai FX a Ponzi scheme.
Fact Check: False
OSMAI FX has no proprietary strategy, all trading is carried out by Hal Robb. His master trading account connects with the clients IC Markets account. When his Master Account places a trade, the clients account places a trade. No funds are paid into the investors bank account. Account changes come from actual trades with actual gains or losses. As above, the structure makes it impossible for it to be any kind of Ponzi scheme.
Bond Review Statement:
In an attempt to reassure investors that it can’t steal their money, Osmai claims “you control the money, we control the trades” and that investors’ money will be held by an Australian broker, IC markets, rather than Osmai itself. The reality is that “you control the money, we control the trades” is nonsense. Either Osmai controls your money or it doesn’t.
Fact Check: False
This is makes no sense and is based on fallacy. The statement “you control the money” is simply fact. The client opens an account with IC Markets and funds it themselves. At no time can any third party (including OSMAI and Hal Robb) access that account and those funds. The statement “Either Osmai controls your money or it doesn’t” is a false dichotomy and makes no logical sense. There is no logical reason that either statement must be true to the exclusion of the other, it is poor writing. The funds are not controlled by OSMAI and nor is a requirement that they must be. The first principle of OSMAI FX is that the client controls their own money.