Risk scorecard
Each area is scored 0 (clean) to 10 (worst). Higher means more risk.
Regulation
7/10 · HighThe exchange trading licence was downgraded to none by November 2023 and member seat 008 now belongs to another company, yet the site kept taking deposits.
Identity & transparency
6/10 · HighA real named Hong Kong entity with a registered office, company numbers and a named director, but the operation has now vanished leaving clients with no contact point.
Withdrawals & conduct
9/10 · CriticalA clustered pattern of fund integrity reports from May to December 2022 describing the same failure, frozen withdrawals and a disabled client back office, none of them resolved.
Reputation
9/10 · CriticalUnresolved complaints across more than one platform plus national press coverage in Taiwan of a large collapse carrying this brand.
Website claims
8/10 · CriticalSaint Vincent company registrations were presented as regulation, and the site described itself as supervised under Hong Kong law while holding no exchange trading licence.
Operational history
3/10 · LowAbout thirteen years of verified continuous operation from a 2013 domain and a decade on the exchange register, which is genuine longevity, though the business has now ceased.
Who they are
A quick desk file on the company behind the brand.
The desk file on this operation, taken from the exchange register and the company's own pages.
- Brand: BEST LEADER, in Chinese 百麗貴金屬
- Legal entity: Best Leader Precious Metals Limited
- Registered: Unit 2202-07, Exchange Tower, 33 Wang Chiu Road, Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong. Business registration 61446623-000, company number 1908451
- Website: www.leader008.com, which no longer loads
- Only licence: Hong Kong Gold Exchange (formerly the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society) member seat 008. That seat now belongs to another company
- Offers: spot gold and spot silver trading on MetaTrader 4, for retail and institutional clients
- Not accepted: no restricted country list could be read from the surviving pages
- Age claim: the site claimed management with more than thirty years of industry experience. The business itself traces to a domain registered in May 2013
- Named officer: SZE Chong Hoi, recorded as executive manager on the exchange register
Regulation
Who really oversees this broker, and what each licence is worth to you.
Proof of regulation on an official register: No
We could not confirm this broker on any genuine regulator’s register.
Licences the broker publishes
Hong Kong Gold Exchange (formerly Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (claimed for Best Leader International Ltd)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (claimed for Best Leader Markets Ltd)
Why we reached this verdict
How the evidence adds up.
We reached this verdict from the exchange's own register, read both live and in archived copies, and from what clients reported.
- The licence is gone. We opened the Hong Kong Gold Exchange member list on 14 August 2026. Seat 008 is recorded against HATC Group Limited. Best Leader Precious Metals Limited is not on the list at all.
- It was real before that. An archived copy of the same register from 4 December 2022 records member 008 as Best Leader Precious Metals Limited, website www.leader008.com, phone 852 23281100, status AA. That is the exchange's top class, permitting 99 Gold, Loco London Gold and Silver, and Renminbi Kilobar Gold.
- Then it was downgraded. The same register page on 28 November 2023 records the same company at seat 008 with status D. The exchange's own key defines D as no trading licence.
- The site kept taking deposits anyway. Archived copies from May 2025 and February 2026 still carry pages for opening a live account, deposit procedure, withdrawal procedure, and a client login at user.leader008.com. The About page said only that the business is supervised under Hong Kong law, which is not a licence.
- Registrations were dressed up as regulation. The footer stated that Best Leader International Ltd is regulated by Saint Vincent and the Grenadines under number 25515 BC 2019, and Best Leader Markets Ltd under 26081 BC 2020. Those are company registration numbers. The Saint Vincent authority does not license this kind of business.
- Clients say the money stopped coming back. Reports from Taiwanese investors dated between May and December 2022 describe the same failure: withdrawal requests unpaid, the client back office no longer allowing login or withdrawal, shifting explanations about overseas bank checks, and no useful reply from the Hong Kong company. They appear on more than one platform and carry dates and specifics.
- The brand sits inside a large collapse. Taiwanese prosecutors charged ten people in November 2023 over about 1.8 billion New Taiwan dollars raised by selling a product carried under the Best Leader name, and Taiwanese reporting puts the wider failure at more than 4,000 investors and 18.5 billion New Taiwan dollars, with payouts stopping in August 2022.
- The operation has now vanished. The domain was registered in May 2013 and is still paid up to 2027, but its nameservers were switched to a domain aftermarket provider on 20 June 2026 and the site no longer loads.
We stopped short of calling this a proven fraud. The strongest single document, the exchange register, proves a lapsed licence and a sold seat rather than theft, and one Taiwanese prosecution report states that the distributors falsely claimed authority from the Hong Kong group rather than acting for it.
Note on operating history: the 13.3-year track record rests on domain registration alone. No company incorporation date could be established, so this is an upper bound rather than a confirmed age.
Evidence ledger
Every finding, with its source and how strongly it points.
E1The Hong Kong Gold Exchange member register, opened on 14 August 2026, records member seat 008 against HATC Group Limited. Best Leader Precious Metals Limited does not appear anywhere on the current member list.
Hard proofHong Kong Gold Exchange member listE2An archived copy of the exchange register from 4 December 2022 records member 008 as Best Leader Precious Metals Limited, website www.leader008.com, phone 852 23281100, business registration 61446623-000, company number 1908451, executive manager SZE Chong Hoi, with status AA, the exchange's top trading class.
E3An archived copy of the same register page from 28 November 2023 records the same company at seat 008 with status D. The key printed on that page defines D as no trading licence.
E4An archived copy of the broker's own homepage from 17 February 2026 shows live pages for opening a real account, deposit procedure and withdrawal procedure, plus a client login at user.leader008.com, at a time when the exchange register showed no trading licence.
E5The site footer states that Best Leader International Ltd is regulated by Saint Vincent and the Grenadines under number 25515 BC 2019 and that Best Leader Markets Ltd is regulated there under 26081 BC 2020. Both are company registration numbers rather than financial licences.
E6The broker's About page as archived in May 2025 claims authoritative certification and describes the business as supervised under Hong Kong law, without naming any licence, while the exchange register recorded no trading licence.
E7Investors reported between May and December 2022 that withdrawals from products carried under this name were unpaid, that the client back office no longer permitted login or withdrawal, that explanations shifted to overseas bank checks, and that enquiries to the Hong Kong precious metals company were not answered. The reports name the broker's own website and email address.
StrongUser reports collected by a third-party broker directoryE8Taichung prosecutors in Taiwan charged ten people in November 2023 over roughly 1.8 billion New Taiwan dollars raised from investors by selling a product marketed under the Best Leader name. The report states the sellers claimed authorisation from the Hong Kong group.
ModerateCentral News Agency, TaiwanE9Taiwanese investigative reporting describes the Best Leader group as covering financial products, precious metals and fine wine, records that payouts to investors stopped in August 2022, and puts the losses at more than 4,000 victims and over 18.5 billion New Taiwan dollars.
StrongMirror Media, TaiwanE10The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission alert list carries an entry for Best Leader Global Market NZ Limited, an unlicensed entity added on 6 March 2017, at a Auckland address, using the website www.bl-gm.com, with a note that the company uses a Hong Kong bank account in the same name for settlement. The website named is not the broker's own.
E11The domain leader008.com was registered on 9 May 2013 and runs to May 2027, but its record was last changed on 20 June 2026 and its nameservers now point to a domain aftermarket provider. The site does not load.
E12The group website states that Best Leader Precious Metals Limited is a member of the Hong Kong Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society under membership number 008 holding a Type AA trading licence, and names www.leader008.com as its site and Sze Chong Hai as its director.
E13The broker announced in February 2022 that it had received the first GTP Certified badge issued by the Hong Kong bullion exchange, which is consistent with genuine membership in good standing at that time.
ModerateBroker news page, archived copyE14The broker published a notice warning clients that people posing as its staff were contacting them by messaging apps and email, claiming a system upgrade and pushing an unrelated trading platform, and stating it had no connection with that operator.
E15The group domain best-leader.com was registered on 13 March 2015 and remains registered, which is consistent with a long running group rather than a newly created brand.
The other side
The strongest case in this broker’s favour.
The fair case for this company deserves to be put, because parts of it are true and verified.
- This was not a paper front. The Hong Kong Gold Exchange register carried Best Leader Precious Metals Limited at seat 008 with the highest AA trading class, a Kowloon Bay office address, a landline, a fax number and a named executive manager.
- The exchange itself gave the firm a GTP Certified badge in February 2022, which the company announced on its own news page. A regulator-adjacent body does not hand those to shell companies.
- The operating history is genuine and long. The main domain dates to May 2013 and the archive shows continuous Best Leader content, so the age was never inflated.
- Losing an exchange seat is not by itself dishonest. The exchange runs an open market in membership seats, and firms wind down and sell them for ordinary commercial reasons.
- In at least one Taiwanese case, prosecutors said the sellers falsely claimed authorisation from the Hong Kong group. On that reading the brand was misused by others rather than being the perpetrator.
- The company publicly warned its own clients about people impersonating its staff and pushing a different trading platform, which is what a firm trying to protect clients does.
- The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission alert we found names a New Zealand company at a different website, not this one. We did not treat it as a warning against this broker.
What would change this
What we would need to see to revise the verdict.
These are the specific things that would move this verdict, in either direction.
- The Hong Kong Gold Exchange member list showing Best Leader Precious Metals Limited again with a live trading class would remove the central finding.
- A public statement from the company or its liquidator setting out how client balances were returned, with dates, would change the withdrawal picture substantially.
- Evidence that the gold trading accounts at leader008.com were settled in full, and that the frozen money belonged only to a separate fund product, would narrow this report to the group rather than this entity.
- A Hong Kong court or regulator finding that the brand was used without authority by the Taiwanese sellers, and that this company paid its own clients, would push the verdict toward a failed business rather than a scam.
- Conversely, a Hong Kong enforcement action, a winding-up order, or a regulator warning naming leader008.com or Best Leader Precious Metals Limited would take this to a confirmed verdict.
- A verified count of unpaid client balances at this entity would do the same.
Check it yourself
Official registers and warning lists. Verify every claim first-hand.
Hong Kong Gold Exchange member list
The exchange's current register of member firms. Best Leader is not on it.
Hong Kong SFC Alert List, letter B
Hong Kong regulator list of unlicensed entities, searchable by name.
SFC alert entry for Best Leader Global Market NZ Limited
An alert on a New Zealand company using a similar name and a Hong Kong bank account.
Exchange register as archived in December 2022
Shows Best Leader at seat 008 with AA trading status.
Exchange register as archived in November 2023
Same company at seat 008, now with status D, meaning no trading licence.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about this broker’s safety.
Is Best Leader a scam?
We rate it a likely scam. It began as a properly licensed Hong Kong bullion dealer, but it lost its exchange trading licence, kept a deposit-taking website running for roughly two more years, and clients report that withdrawals were frozen. The site has now disappeared.
Is Best Leader regulated?
Not any more. It held Hong Kong Gold Exchange member seat 008 with an AA trading licence, which we confirmed in an archived copy of the exchange register from December 2022. By November 2023 the same register showed status D, meaning no trading licence, and the seat now belongs to a different company.
What happened to the leader008.com website?
It stopped working. The domain was registered in May 2013 and is paid up until 2027, but its nameservers were moved to a domain aftermarket provider on 20 June 2026 and the site no longer loads. Archived copies from February 2026 show it was still operating then.
Can I still withdraw my money from Best Leader?
There is no working website, no client login and no functioning support channel that we could find. Investors have reported unpaid withdrawals since mid 2022. Treat any funds still held there as at serious risk and start a formal complaint.
What is the Hong Kong Gold Exchange and does its membership protect me?
It is the Hong Kong bullion market, founded in 1910 and formerly called the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society. Membership with a trading class is a real credential and members are audited, but it is not a deposit protection scheme. It does not compensate you if a member fails.
What does the status D on the exchange register mean?
The exchange publishes a key next to each member. AA is the top class, permitting the widest range of gold and silver contracts. D means no trading licence. Best Leader carried status D on the register from at least November 2023.
Was Best Leader regulated in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines?
No. The site named two Saint Vincent companies with the numbers 25515 BC 2019 and 26081 BC 2020 and described them as regulated there. Those are ordinary company registration numbers. The Saint Vincent authority does not license this type of trading business, so this was a registration presented as regulation.
Is Best Leader a clone of another firm?
No. This was a real Hong Kong company with its own registration numbers, its own office address and its own named director, all recorded on the exchange register. It is not impersonating anyone else.
How old was the company?
The main website domain was registered in May 2013, and the archive shows continuous Best Leader content from then onwards, so roughly thirteen years of trading history. We could not open the Hong Kong Companies Registry entry, so that figure rests on the domain record and should be read as an upper bound.
What is the connection to the Taiwan fraud cases?
Products carried under the Best Leader name were sold to Taiwanese investors and stopped paying out in August 2022. Prosecutors in Taichung charged ten people in November 2023 over about 1.8 billion New Taiwan dollars, and wider reporting puts the losses above 18.5 billion New Taiwan dollars across more than 4,000 investors. In at least one of those cases the sellers were said to have claimed authority from the Hong Kong group falsely.
Is there a Hong Kong regulator warning about Best Leader?
Not against this company. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission alert list does carry an entry for Best Leader Global Market NZ Limited, a New Zealand company added on 6 March 2017 using a different website. We did not treat that as a warning against Best Leader Precious Metals Limited.
What should I do if I lost money with Best Leader?
Collect your account statements, transfer receipts and messages now. Report the loss to the police where you live and to the Hong Kong police and the Securities and Futures Commission. Do not pay anyone who promises to recover your funds for an upfront fee.
Someone contacted me about moving my Best Leader account to a new platform. Is that genuine?
Almost certainly not. The company itself published a notice warning that people posing as its staff were pushing clients onto an unrelated platform. With the business now gone, any such approach should be treated as a follow-up fraud.
How can I check a Hong Kong bullion dealer myself?
Open the Hong Kong Gold Exchange member list, find the firm by name, and read the member number and the trading class shown beside it. Check that the website listed on the register matches the site you are actually using.
What we recommend
The practical takeaway from everything above.
Our advice for anyone dealing with this name.
- Do not send money to anything trading as Best Leader or leader008.com. The website is gone and the exchange licence is gone with it.
- If someone contacts you offering to reopen your account, restore your balance, or move you to a new platform, treat it as a fraud attempt. The company itself warned about exactly that pattern.
- Never pay a fee, a tax, or a verification charge to release funds. No legitimate firm asks for that.
- If you have money outstanding, gather your statements, transfer records and messages now, while you still have them.
- Report the loss to the police in the place where you live, and in Hong Kong to the police and to the Securities and Futures Commission complaint line.
- Investors in Taiwan should check with the Taichung prosecutors' case concerning the products sold under this name, since proceedings there are already under way.
- Before using any Hong Kong bullion dealer in future, look up its member number on the Hong Kong Gold Exchange list and check the trading class shown against it.
This is an independent assessment of risk, not a legal ruling. Scores and verdicts follow the Wikilix broker-safety methodology and can change as new evidence appears. Review scores are treated with caution when a broker’s reviews look manipulated. Last reviewed August 14, 2026. If any detail here is out of date or incorrect, or you represent this broker, please contact us.