Warning: uk-trd.investments Unauthorized Financial Services

BaFin News

Filed April 2nd, 2026

Detected April 2nd, 2026

Summary

BaFin issued a consumer warning about uk-trd.investments, a website offering financial and cryptoasset services without the required authorization. The operators falsely claim to be "UK Trade & Invest" and allege authorization by the fictitious "European Financial Authority" (FINA EU). Consumers are advised to verify company authorization status in BaFin's company database before engaging with online investment platforms.

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What changed

BaFin warns consumers that uk-trd.investments is offering banking business, financial services, and cryptoasset services in Germany without the required authorization under section 37(4) of the German Banking Act (KWG) and section 10(7) of the German Cryptomarkets Supervision Act. The website falsely claims affiliation with "UK Trade & Invest" and asserts it is authorized by the non-existent "European Financial Authority" (FINA EU/FINAEU/FINA EU). This follows a prior BaFin warning issued on 29 August 2024 regarding FINA EU's false claims of being a European supervisory authority.

Consumers who have engaged with uk-trd.investments should immediately verify whether the company appears in BaFin's database of authorized companies and report any suspected violations to BaFin's whistleblower contact point. All consumers considering online investment opportunities should conduct thorough due diligence beforehand to identify potential fraud attempts at an early stage.

What to do next

Verify any investment company appears in BaFin's company database before transferring funds
Report suspected unauthorized business to BaFin's whistleblower contact point
Exercise utmost caution with unsolicited online investment offers and conduct due diligence

Penalties

Operating unauthorized banking business, financial services, or cryptoasset services in Germany is a regulatory violation subject to BaFin enforcement action

Source document (simplified)

Erscheinung: 02.04.2026 | Topic Unauthorised business, Consumer protection BaFin warns consumers about the website uk-trd(.)investments

The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) warns consumers about the services offered on the website uk-trd(.)investments. According to information available to BaFin, the operators are offering financial and cryptoasset services on the website without the required authorisation. The unknown operators are not supervised by BaFin. They claim to be a company called “ UK Trade & Invest”. In communications with customers, the website operators claim to be authorised by the European Financial Authority (sometimes referred to as the “FINAEU”, “FINA EU ” or “FIN A EU ”).

The European Financial Authority, however, is not an official or legitimised supervisory authority at the national or supranational level. On 29 August 2024, BaFin issued a warning about FINA EU and its claim to be a European Supervisory Authority.

Banking business, financial services and cryptoasset services may only be offered in Germany with authorisation from BaFin. However, some companies offer these services without the required authorisation. Information on whether a particular company has been granted authorisation by BaFin can be found in BaFin ’s database of companies.

BaFin is issuing this warning on the basis of section 37 (4) of the German Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz – KWG) and section 10 (7) of the German Cryptomarkets Supervision Act (Kryptomärkteaufsichtsgesetz).

Please be aware:

BaFin, the German Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt – BKA) and the German state criminal police offices (Landeskriminalämter) recommend that consumers seeking to invest money online should exercise the utmost caution and do the necessary research beforehand in order to identify fraud attempts at an early stage.

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