Trader Accuses TIOmarkets of Fraud: Profits and Deposit Canceled Upon Withdrawal

A trader from Pakistan has accused forex broker TIOmarkets of unethical and fraudulent practices, alleging the company unjustly canceled his profits and even his initial deposit when he requested to withdraw funds. Shortly after, his MT5 account was blocked, and he also lost access to his client portal.

According to his complaint submitted to BrokersView, on 22 April 2025, he deposited $340 into his account opened on the TIOmarkets platform and opened a buy trade of 28 shares of US stock TSLA, and he made a profit of $326. After his withdrawal of profits was refused, TIOmarkets emailed him, citing rule violations related to the misuse of their Negative Balance Protection (NBP) policy. 

However, he strongly disputed this claim, asserting that he never utilized any negative balance facility from the company since his account never went into negative.

“When I lost money, they did not raise any concerns about rule violations. But now that I have profited, they refused to honor my earnings and confiscated both my profit and capital,” he said, believing that TIOmarkets is defrauding its clients.

The trader also suspected that TIOmarkets operates standalone servers that are not connected to legitimate exchanges, raising doubts about the broker’s credibility. He urged retail traders to exercise caution, alleging that TIOmarkets “entices deposits but refuses to honor withdrawals when profits are made”.

Regulatory concerns about TIOmarkets

On June 15, 2022, the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) issued a warning against TIOmarkets. The regulator determined that TIOmarkets is not registered to trade or advise on securities or derivatives in British Columbia, with the involved domain being https://tiomarkets.com/.

Currently, TIO Markets Ltd. claims on its website (https://tiomarkets.com/) that it is registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) as an International Business Company under registration number 24986 IBC 2018. Additionally, the broker asserts that it holds a license from the Mwali International Services Authority (MISA) in the Comoros Union under number T2023224.

While our verification confirms that TIO Markets Ltd. is indeed registered with SVG’s Financial Services Authority, this authority does not regulate forex brokerage activities. 

Furthermore, although TIO Markets Ltd. holds authorization from MISA, this agency is not recognized as a legitimate financial regulator. In fact, the Central Bank of Comoros has labeled MISA as a fictitious financial regulator.

As a result, TIO Markets Ltd. (https://tiomarkets.com/) operates without valid regulatory oversight, posing risks to traders. The client's complaint against TIO Markets Ltd. further highlights potential broker misconduct.

TIOmarkets operates branches in both the UK and Cyprus under separate entities—TIO Markets UK Ltd and TIO Markets CY Ltd—each operating under distinct domains. The UK entity is authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), while the Cyprus branch holds a license from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).