Risk scorecard
Each area is scored 0 (clean) to 10 (worst). Higher means more risk.
Regulation
7/10 · HighOnly trading licence is Vanuatu VFSC 41694 (offshore, active); FCA firm 785129 has no permissions left; FSCA 54031 is intermediary-only; Malaysia's SC lists cwgmarkets.com for unlicensed dealing.
Identity & transparency
4/10 · ModerateCompanies, numbers and UK ownership are disclosed and match the registers, but same-named companies in four jurisdictions and an MT platform under a Saint Vincent company blur who holds client money.
Withdrawals & conduct
6/10 · HighRecurring 2022-2026 fund-integrity complaints on two platforms (profits removed for alleged abnormal or bonus trading, frozen balances); broker often replies; no fee-to-withdraw demands.
Reputation
6/10 · HighTrustpilot 3.4 on 94 reviews (83% five-star, 13% one-star), ForexPeaceArmy 2.95 on 5 reviews and a Malaysian regulator alert; CWG is also the victim of three FCA-listed clones.
Website claims
5/10 · ModerateLicence footer is broadly accurate, but the sites still call CWG Markets Limited an authorised firm after the UK wind-down and do not say the FSCA licence is intermediary-only.
Operational history
2/10 · Lowcwgmarkets.com registered 11 Jan 2017 and run by the FCA firm by 2019; UK company dates from 2014; about 9.8 years of verified history despite the 2026 UK wind-down.
Who they are
A quick desk file on the company behind the brand.
- Brand: CWG Markets, described on its sites as the trading name of the CWG Group of companies.
- Legal entity: CWG Markets (VU) Limited, named in the client terms. The VFSC lists it as CWG MARKETS LTD, company no. 41694.
- Registered: 1276 Govant Building, Kumul Highway, Port Vila, Vanuatu.
- Other companies: CWG Markets Ltd, England and Wales no. 08888720, 3rd Floor, 76 Cannon Street, London (formerly Maramex Limited, FCA FRN 785129). CWG Markets SA (Pty) Ltd, South Africa, 2023/678775/07, Sandton (FSCA FSP 54031). CWG Markets SVG Ltd, Saint Vincent business company 25447 BC 2019, whose name is on the MT4 and MT5 installers.
- Owner (UK company): Companies House lists Yan Wang as holding 75% or more of shares and votes since 31 January 2017. The directors are Patrick Joon Leong Koh and Yan Wang.
- Website: cwgplatform.com, with identical copies at cwgmarkets.com, cwgvu.com, cwgpro.com and cwgmks.com. The client portal is secure.cwgmarkets.com and its mirrors. The UK site cwgmarkets.co.uk no longer opens accounts.
- Only licence: Vanuatu VFSC Financial Dealers Licence, classes A, B and C, dated 2 October 2023, active. The FSCA licence covers advice and intermediary services only, and the FCA authorisation no longer permits any regulated activity.
- Offers: forex, metals, energy, indices, commodity futures and crypto CFDs on MT4 and MT5, with leverage up to 1:1000, accounts from $10, copy trading, PAMM and bonus promotions.
- Not accepted: residents of the United States, Iran, Indonesia and Malaysia, according to the site footer.
- Age claim: the site states no founding year. cwgmarkets.com was registered on 11 January 2017, and the UK company was incorporated on 12 February 2014.
Regulation
Who really oversees this broker, and what each licence is worth to you.
Proof of regulation on an official register: Yes
We confirmed this broker on a genuine regulator’s register.
Licences the broker publishes
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), United Kingdom
Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC)
Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), South Africa
Found by our investigation (1) — the broker does not list these on its own site
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines business company registration (25447 BC 2019)
Found by us — not listed by the broker
Why we reached this verdict
How the evidence adds up.
We rate CWG Markets high risk rather than a likely scam. The group is real and its licences exist. But its strongest protection, the FCA authorisation, no longer covers any regulated business. The record against it is about where it sold its services and how it treats profitable clients.
- Malaysian alert. The Securities Commission Malaysia Investor Alert List names CWG Markets with the website https://www.cwgmarkets.com/ (2023), for carrying on unlicensed capital market activities of dealing in securities. IOSCO's I-SCAN carries the same alert, dated 7 May 2024. The site footer now excludes Malaysian residents.
- FCA wind-down. On the FCA register, CWG Markets Ltd shows Authorised, applied to cancel, since 6 July 2026. Requirements dated 8 June 2026 made it close every client position by 15 June 2026 and return client money. It also had until 18 June 2026 to make sure connected entities stopped advertising its FCA status.
- Outdated FCA wording. The global sites still call CWG Markets Limited an authorised firm in their clone warning. They also tell readers to check the firm on the FCA register, although that firm can no longer do regulated business.
- Offshore money. The client terms name CWG Markets (VU) Limited, whose VFSC licence is dated 2 October 2023. The MT4 and MT5 installers on the site are named for CWG Markets SVG Ltd, which has a Saint Vincent business company registration, not a trading licence.
- Complaint pattern. Fund-integrity complaints from 2022 to 2026 on Trustpilot and ForexPeaceArmy describe one pattern: the broker alleges abnormal, arbitrage or bonus-rule trading, removes the profits, and sometimes freezes the account. In a 2022 ForexPeaceArmy case, the client posted emails in which CWG would release the remaining $4,337.48 only if the complaint was removed.
- Why not a scam verdict. The licences are genuine, and Companies House shows who owns the UK company. The main domain dates from January 2017. CWG replies to many complaints, most Trustpilot reviews are positive, and no regulator or court has made a finding of fraud.
- Score. (8x2 + 4x2 + 6x2 + 6 + 5 + 2) / 9 = 5.4, shown as 54%.
Evidence ledger
Every finding, with its source and how strongly it points.
E1The FCA register lists CWG Markets Ltd, FRN 785129, company 08888720, at 76 Cannon Street, London, with the website www.cwgmarkets.co.uk. This confirms the UK company is the real CWG firm and not a clone.
E2FCA status: Authorised since 2 Jul 2018, sub-status Applied to Cancel since 6 Jul 2026. The FCA notice says CWG Markets Ltd removed all regulated activities from its permission, cannot carry out any regulated activity in the UK and cannot accept new client monies. The register also notes the firm details may no longer be correct and that the FCA is addressing this with the firm.
ModerateFCA Financial Services RegisterE3FCA requirements dated 8 Jun 2026: notify clients by 9 Jun 2026, close all open client positions by 15 Jun 2026, return segregated client money and title-transfer funds (the latter by 19 Jun 2026), and ensure connected entities stop advertising the firm's FCA status by 18 Jun 2026.
E4cwgplatform.com, cwgmarkets.com and their copies still describe CWG Markets Limited as an authorised firm in the clone warning and tell readers to verify the firm on the FCA register. This continues after the 18 Jun 2026 deadline for connected entities to stop advertising its FCA status.
ModerateCWG Markets website footerE5The VFSC Financial Dealers Licensee List shows company number 41694, CWG MARKETS LTD, classes A, B and C, status Active, date of licence 2 Oct 2023. This matches the VFSC registration no. 41694 that CWG's footer gives for CWG Markets (VU).
E6FSCA FAIS register: FSP 54031, CWG MARKETS SA (PTY) LTD, registration 2023/678775/07, authorised 05/06/2024, at 3 Gwen Lane, Sandton. Approved products are Category I advice and intermediary services only, including derivative instruments. The register is searched by FSP number and has no per-firm link.
ModerateFSCA FAIS FSP search (FSP 54031)E7A search of the FSCA list of authorised OTC derivative providers for CWG returns no result. The South African licence therefore does not cover acting as the client's counterparty.
E8A search of FSCA enforcement actions for CWG returns no result.
E9Securities Commission Malaysia Investor Alert List entry: CWG Markets, website https://www.cwgmarkets.com/, year 2023, remark: carrying on unlicensed capital market activities of dealing in securities.
E10IOSCO I-SCAN returns two alerts for CWG: the Securities Commission Malaysia entry (7 May 2024) and an FCA clone-firm entry. No other regulator alert names CWG.
WeakIOSCO I-SCANE11The FCA lists three clone operations using CWG Markets Ltd's details: cwg-markets.com (14 Jun 2019), cwgforextw.com (25 May 2021) and cwg-ins.com with cwgcn.com (27 Nov 2023). None is a domain the real broker uses.
E12Companies House: CWG MARKETS LTD, 08888720, active, incorporated 12 Feb 2014 as MARAMEX LIMITED and renamed on 2 Feb 2017. Person with significant control: Yan Wang (75% or more since 31 Jan 2017). Directors: Patrick Joon Leong Koh and Yan Wang.
ModerateCompanies HouseE13CWG's 2025 Terms and Conditions (Vanuatu version) name CWG Markets (VU) Limited as the company that opens real trading accounts.
E14The MT4 and MT5 downloads on cwgmarkets.com are named cwgmarketssvgltd4setup.exe and cwgmarketssvg5setup.exe. These match the platform company of cwgsvg.com, which presents CWG Markets SVG Ltd as Saint Vincent business company 25447 BC 2019. The trading platform therefore carries a different company's name from the licensed contracting entity.
E15Trustpilot page for www.cwgmarkets.com: 94 reviews, TrustScore 3.4, with 83% five-star and 13% one-star. One-star reviews from 2022 to 2026 describe profits deducted or bonus profits refused, plus one claim of $2,000 lost. CWG replied to many of them, but not to those posted since mid-2026.
ModerateTrustpilot, www.cwgmarkets.comE16Most Trustpilot reviews are positive. Several describe instant deposits and withdrawals and helpful support.
E17ForexPeaceArmy page for CWGMarkets.com (copy archived 28 May 2024): 5 reviews, rating 2.95. A Singapore client reported that two thirds of their profits were removed after a January 2022 withdrawal request. The client posted CWG emails that made release of the remaining $4,337.48 conditional on removing the complaint. The page lists cwgsvg.com as an alias of the broker.
E18Complaint pattern on Trustpilot and ForexPeaceArmy, 2022 to 2026. The same mechanism recurs: profits removed after alleged abnormal or bonus-rule trading, sometimes with a frozen balance. Different users report it on two platforms, with checkable amounts and dates. The complaints are not clustered in one period.
E19A BrokersView article of 27 Jan 2026 reported a CWG client account suspended over alleged latency arbitrage, and an earlier withdrawal of over $20,000 delayed for seven months. The article names no domain and calls the outcome inconclusive.
E20cwgmarkets.co.uk states that CWG Markets Ltd is restructuring its UK business, is not carrying on regulated investment business, and is not opening new client accounts.
E21cwgmarkets.com was registered on 11 Jan 2017. The earliest archived copy (4 Jul 2019) shows it operated by CWG MARKETS LTD under FCA FRN 785129, which gives a continuous history under one brand.
E22A September 2026 Trustpilot review from a self-described former employee says the August 2026 salary was not paid after staff were told August was their last month. It is unverified and concerns staff, not client funds.
The other side
The strongest case in this broker’s favour.
The strongest case for CWG Markets is that it is a genuine, long-running broker group that is restructuring, not a fly-by-night operation.
- It is not a clone. The FCA register, Companies House, the VFSC list and the FSCA register all confirm its companies. The FCA itself lists three fake operations that copied CWG's identity: cwg-markets.com, cwgforextw.com, and cwg-ins.com with cwgcn.com.
- The UK wind-down looks orderly and openly disclosed. cwgmarkets.co.uk says plainly that the firm is not carrying on regulated business, and the FCA requirements include returning segregated client money.
- Many offshore brokers disclose in their terms that they cancel profits from latency arbitrage, multi-account hedging or bonus abuse, and some affected traders may have broken those rules. A January 2026 case reported by BrokersView involved a rule on high-volume trades held for under 120 seconds.
- Withdrawals work for many clients. Positive reviews on Trustpilot and ForexPeaceArmy describe smooth deposits and withdrawals, and CWG answers negative reviews publicly.
- The Malaysian alert is about the lack of a Malaysian licence, not about theft, and CWG now refuses Malaysian residents.
- The site makes no inflated founding claim, and the domain history matches the company history.
What would change this
What we would need to see to revise the verdict.
The findings below would move this assessment up or down.
- Lower risk: the Securities Commission Malaysia removing its alert. The company that holds client money gaining a tier-1 or tier-2 dealing licence. The trading platform and the client contract sitting in the same licensed company. Published, specific rules for cancelling profits, with trade-level evidence given to affected clients.
- Higher risk: a new regulator warning naming any CWG domain. UK clients reporting money not returned after the FCA wind-down. Complaints shifting from cancelled profits to refused deposits. Any demand for a fee or tax before a withdrawal. The Vanuatu licence lapsing or being suspended.
Check it yourself
Official registers and warning lists. Verify every claim first-hand.
FCA register: CWG Markets Ltd (FRN 785129)
Current status, the June 2026 requirements and the FCA's clone warnings.
VFSC Financial Dealers Licensee List
Find company number 41694, CWG MARKETS LTD. CWG's own site does not link to this entry.
Securities Commission Malaysia Investor Alert List
Search the page for CWG Markets to see the 2023 alert.
IOSCO I-SCAN alerts for CWG
Alerts from regulators worldwide that mention CWG.
Companies House: CWG MARKETS LTD (08888720)
UK company record, filings, directors and owner.
CWG client terms (Vanuatu, 2025)
Names CWG Markets (VU) Limited as the account provider.
CWG Markets main site
The footer lists the group's licences and restricted countries.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about this broker’s safety.
Is CWG Markets a scam?
CWG Markets is a real broker group, not a fake one, but we rate it high risk at 54%. Its only trading licence is from Vanuatu, and Malaysia's Securities Commission lists cwgmarkets.com for unlicensed dealing. Clients also report profits removed and accounts frozen after the broker alleged rule-breaking trades.
Is CWG Markets a fraud?
We found no regulator or court finding of fraud against CWG Markets, and the FSCA enforcement list names no CWG company. The regulatory record is narrower: Malaysia lists cwgmarkets.com for unlicensed dealing, and the FCA-authorised UK company has stopped regulated business. Client complaints are about cancelled profits and frozen balances.
Is CWG Markets regulated by the FCA?
Not for any business today. CWG Markets Ltd (FRN 785129) is still on the FCA register, but its status is Authorised, applied to cancel. The FCA notice says it cannot carry out any regulated activity in the UK or accept new client money. Clients outside the UK contract with the Vanuatu company, which the FCA authorisation never covered.
Which CWG company holds my money?
The client terms on cwgmarkets.com name CWG Markets (VU) Limited, which the VFSC lists as CWG MARKETS LTD, company no. 41694, in Port Vila. The MT4 and MT5 installers carry the name of a Saint Vincent company, CWG Markets SVG Ltd. Ask the broker in writing which company holds your account before you deposit.
What is CWG's Vanuatu licence worth?
It is a genuine VFSC Financial Dealers Licence, classes A, B and C, active and dated 2 October 2023. Vanuatu is an offshore jurisdiction with light supervision and no investor compensation scheme. It protects you far less than an FCA or ASIC licence would.
Is CWG's South African FSCA licence a trading licence?
No. FSP 54031 belongs to CWG Markets SA (Pty) Ltd, was authorised on 5 June 2024, and covers Category I advice and intermediary services, including derivatives. The FSCA list of OTC derivative providers includes no CWG company. This licence therefore does not cover dealing as your counterparty.
Can I withdraw my money from CWG Markets?
Many clients report normal withdrawals. However, from 2022 to 2026, clients on Trustpilot and ForexPeaceArmy reported profits removed after the broker alleged abnormal, arbitrage or bonus-rule trading, sometimes with the account frozen. In one 2022 case, the client said the remaining $4,337.48 was held until they removed a public complaint.
Why is CWG Markets on Malaysia's Investor Alert List?
In 2023 the Securities Commission Malaysia listed CWG Markets, with the website https://www.cwgmarkets.com/, for carrying on unlicensed capital market activities of dealing in securities. In plain terms, it offered trading to Malaysians without a Malaysian licence. CWG now lists Malaysia as a restricted country.
Is CWG Markets a clone?
No. The sites described here belong to the real CWG group, which the FCA register, Companies House, the VFSC list and shared infrastructure tie together. CWG has itself been cloned. The FCA lists fake operations at cwg-markets.com, cwgforextw.com, cwg-ins.com and cwgcn.com, none of which have anything to do with the real firm.
How long has CWG Markets been operating?
The UK company was incorporated on 12 February 2014 as Maramex Limited and renamed CWG Markets Ltd in February 2017. cwgmarkets.com was registered on 11 January 2017, and the FCA authorised the UK firm on 2 July 2018. The Vanuatu licence is dated 2 October 2023.
Who owns CWG Markets?
For the UK company, Companies House lists Yan Wang as the person with significant control, holding 75% or more of the shares and voting rights since 31 January 2017. The directors are Patrick Joon Leong Koh and Yan Wang. We found no published ownership record for the Vanuatu company.
What happened to CWG Markets UK clients?
Under requirements dated 8 June 2026, CWG Markets Ltd had to tell UK clients that it was ceasing regulated activity and close all open positions by 15 June 2026. It also had to return client money, with title-transfer funds due back by 19 June 2026. UK clients who are still owed money should contact the firm, then the Financial Ombudsman Service or the FSCS.
What should I check before depositing with CWG Markets?
Confirm which company your account is with. Check FRN 785129 on the FCA register and company 41694 on the VFSC licensee list yourself. Read the payout and bonus rules in the terms, and make sure your country is not restricted. Start with a small deposit and test a withdrawal before adding more.
What we recommend
The practical takeaway from everything above.
If you are considering CWG Markets, treat it as an offshore broker and protect yourself accordingly.
- Know who holds your money. The client terms name CWG Markets (VU) Limited in Vanuatu, where there is no investor compensation scheme.
- Do not rely on the FCA name. Check FRN 785129 on the FCA register yourself. It shows the firm cannot carry out regulated activity.
- Do not open an account if you live in Malaysia, Indonesia, the United States or Iran.
- Avoid bonuses, very high leverage, and trades held only briefly or placed at high frequency. These are the trades most often cancelled. Read the payout policy in the terms first.
- Withdraw profits regularly. Keep copies of your trade history, statements and every email with the compliance team.
- If a withdrawal is refused, complain in writing to the broker, then to the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission. UK clients of CWG Markets Ltd may be able to use the Financial Ombudsman Service or the FSCS.
- Only use CWG's own domains, and ignore anyone who offers to recover your money for a fee.
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 October 28, 2026. If any detail here is out of date or incorrect, or you represent this broker, please contact us.
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