Saskatchewan consumer watchdog warns about 3 unregistered companies

A woman works at a desktop computer alongside an Apple Inc. laptop in a home office in this arranged photograph taken in Bern, Switzerland, on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020. The biggest Wall Street firms are navigating how and when to bring employees safely back to office buildings in global financial hubs, after lockdowns to address the Covid-19 pandemic forced them to do their jobs remotely for months. (Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg)

The province has issued an investor alert, warning residents of three online companies that are currently not registered with the Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan (FCAA).

According to a news release, Amitell Capital PTE LTD, Royal Stone Group and Alpin Horizons claim to offer residents trading opportunities that include forex and cryptocurrencies, with Amitell also claiming to offer stocks and commodities. Royal Stone Group also claims to offer precious metals and commodities, with Alpin Horizons claiming to offer contracts for difference.

“This alert applies to the online entities using the websites “amitellcapltd com”, “royal-stonegroup com”, and “alpinhorizons com” (these URLs have been manually altered so as not to be interactive),” the release said.

The FCAA says companies that are not registered in Saskatchewan may not be legitimate businesses.

Those who have invested with the three businesses or spoken with someone claiming to represent them are asked to contact the FCAA’s Securities Division, the province said.

“In Saskatchewan, individuals or companies need to be registered with the FCAA to trade or sell securities or derivatives. The registration provisions of The Securities Act, 1988, and accompanying regulations are intended to ensure that only honest and knowledgeable people are registered to sell securities and derivatives and that their businesses are financially stable,” the release said.

“Checking the registration status of anyone offering investment opportunities at aretheyregistered.ca should be the first step before considering investing," said Dean Murrison, FCAA securities division executive director.