Risk scorecard
Each area is scored 0 (clean) to 10 (worst). Higher means more risk.
Regulation
7/10 · HighGenuine FSC Mauritius Investment Dealer licence verified in force since April 2022, so not unregulated; but Mauritius is a low-protection offshore regulator and the same entity carries a 2024 UAE regulator warning for unlicensed impersonation, so the licence offers little real safety.
Identity & transparency
5/10 · ModerateThe operating entity and licence are disclosed and match the register, but ownership is not disclosed, the registered office is a corporate-services agent address rather than a staffed office, and the site does not disclose its Equiity past.
Withdrawals & conduct
8/10 · CriticalFund-integrity complaints dominate: deposits accepted, withdrawals blocked, and demands to pay tax, insurance or an admin fee to release funds. Same mechanism, multiple platforms and countries, clustered late 2024 to mid 2025.
Reputation
8/10 · CriticalTrustpilot 1.6 out of 5 from 284 reviews (87 percent one-star); a UAE regulator warning and mainstream press coverage of victim losses under the former brand; recent reviews show reputation-management astroturf.
Website claims
6/10 · HighThe licence claim is technically true, but the site presents an offshore licence to global retail clients as full protection and conceals that the operation was warned under its former brand Equiity.
Operational history
5/10 · ModerateOperating entity licensed 2022 (about four years); the SmartSTP brand dates only to around 2024 after rebranding from the warned brand Equiity. The 2016 and 2018 domain registrations are aged domains, not continuous operation under this brand.
Who they are
A quick desk file on the company behind the brand.
- Brand: SmartSTP (formerly Equiity)
- Legal entity: MRL Investments (MU) Ltd, Mauritius company 187076GBC
- Registered: 7th Floor, Tower 1, NeXTeracom, Cybercity, Ebene 72201, Mauritius (care of Safyr Utilis Fund Services Ltd, a corporate-services provider)
- Website: smartstp.com, also smart-stp.com and smart-stp.net
- Only licence: FSC Mauritius Investment Dealer (Full Service Dealer excluding Underwriting), from 19 April 2022 (offshore, low protection)
- Offers: Forex and CFDs on crypto, stocks, indices, metals and commodities
- Not accepted: USA, Canada, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Myanmar, Russia
- Age claim: none stated on the site; the company was licensed in 2022 and the SmartSTP brand appeared around 2024
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 Services Commission (FSC), Mauritius
Why we reached this verdict
How the evidence adds up.
We weighed a genuine licence against a documented warning history and ongoing withdrawal complaints.
- There is a real licence. MRL Investments (MU) Ltd appears on the FSC Mauritius register with an Investment Dealer (Full Service Dealer excluding Underwriting) licence dated 19 April 2022, and the registered address matches the site. This is why we do not call it a confirmed scam or a clone: it is a licensed offshore company using its own licence.
- But the same company was warned by a regulator. Under its former brand Equiity, the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority warned in March 2024 that MRL Investments was not licensed there and was impersonating the licensed broker Equiti. Reported losses reached up to 500,000 US dollars per victim, and a call centre operated from Sharjah.
- SmartSTP is that operation rebranded. The same legal entity runs it, the two domains share the same registrar and the same nameservers, and the business simply moved to a new name after the warning. A new brand does not clear that history.
- Clients report a withdrawal trap. Across Trustpilot and other platforms, users describe depositing money, then being blocked from withdrawing and pushed to pay a tax, insurance charge or administration fee first. Paying more to release your own money is the classic advance-fee pattern.
- The public record is bad. Trustpilot shows 1.6 out of 5 from 284 reviews, 87 percent one-star, while a set of recent, generic, milder reviews looks like reputation management.
- How the score is set. The dimension scores average to roughly 68 percent. Because an unsevered predecessor carries a regulator warning and clients report advance-fee demands, a minimum of 70 applies, and we set the figure at 74 to reflect the severity. The genuine, in-force offshore licence is what keeps this below the confirmed-scam band. We assess the risk of fraud as high.
Note on operating history: the 8.3-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.
E1MRL Investments (MU) Ltd holds a genuine FSC Mauritius Investment Dealer (Full Service Dealer excluding Underwriting) licence dated 19 April 2022; registered office (c/o Safyr Utilis Fund Services Ltd, Cybercity Ebene) matches the site. Confirms a licensed entity using its own licence, not a clone.
E2The UAE Securities and Commodities Authority warned on 27 March 2024 that MRL Investments, operating equiity.com, was not licensed and was impersonating the licensed broker Equiti; reported victim losses up to 500,000 US dollars, with a Sharjah call centre.
E3SmartSTP is a rebrand of Equiity by the same entity: equiity.com (registered 2016) and smartstp.com (registered 2018) both sit on NameCheap with the identical Cloudflare nameserver pair, and the site footer names MRL Investments as owner of smartstp.com, smart-stp.com and smart-stp.net.
E4Users across Trustpilot and other platforms report the advance-fee withdrawal trap: deposits accepted, then withdrawals blocked and clients told to pay a tax, insurance or administration fee before funds are released, which never arrive.
E5Trustpilot rating 1.6 out of 5 from 284 reviews, 87 percent one-star, with one-star reviews from CH, CO, US, AE, AU and CA users; a set of recent generic three-star reviews with company replies indicates reputation management.
StrongTrustpilotE6The registered office on the FSC register is a corporate-services provider address (c/o Safyr Utilis Fund Services Ltd), not an independent staffed office, and the broker publishes no clickable FSC register verification link for its licence.
E7smartstp.com was registered on 13 May 2018 and the predecessor equiity.com on 4 November 2016, both aged domains, while the licensed entity dates to 2022 and the SmartSTP brand to around 2024, indicating brand churn rather than long continuous operation.
E8The broker holds only an offshore Mauritius licence while soliciting international retail clients (multi-language site, Forex and CFD offering) and, per the UAE warning, ran a Sharjah call centre, indicating solicitation well beyond the licence scope.
The other side
The strongest case in this broker’s favour.
In fairness, some points cut the other way.
- The FSC Mauritius licence is genuine and currently in force. Many offshore brokers cannot show even that.
- The site discloses a real legal entity and a registered address that matches the regulator's record.
- The UAE warning names the former brand Equiity, not smartstp.com directly, and we found no FSC Mauritius revocation or investor alert against SmartSTP.
- A minority of reviews are positive, and a few users report that withdrawals eventually arrived, although the most recent positive reviews look coordinated.
What would change this
What we would need to see to revise the verdict.
Our view would move if the facts changed.
- Toward higher risk: a regulator warning naming smartstp.com directly, an FSC Mauritius suspension or investor alert, or a court or enforcement action against MRL Investments.
- Toward lower risk: consistent, verifiable proof that withdrawals now process normally across independent platforms, and evidence that the business has genuinely broken from the Equiity operation, with different owners and management.
Check it yourself
Official registers and warning lists. Verify every claim first-hand.
FSC Mauritius Register of Licensees
Search 'MRL Investments' to see the Investment Dealer licence dated 19 April 2022.
UAE regulator warning coverage (Equiity / MRL Investments)
Reports the UAE SCA March 2024 warning about the operator's former Equiity brand.
SmartSTP reviews on Trustpilot
1.6 out of 5 from 284 reviews, 87 percent one-star.
SmartSTP official website
Operator name and licence claim appear in the footer.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about this broker’s safety.
Is SmartSTP a scam?
We assess SmartSTP as a likely scam. It is run by the same company a UAE regulator warned about under the former brand Equiity, and users widely report deposits taken and withdrawals then blocked. It does hold a genuine but weak offshore Mauritius licence, which is why we stop short of calling it a confirmed scam.
Is SmartSTP a fraud?
We do not have a court ruling, so we describe what is on record. The UAE Securities and Commodities Authority warned in March 2024 that the operator, as Equiity, was unlicensed and was impersonating another firm, with large reported losses. Based on that history and current complaints, we assess the risk of fraud as high.
Is SmartSTP regulated?
Yes, but only offshore. The operator, MRL Investments (MU) Ltd, holds a Mauritius FSC Investment Dealer licence dated April 2022, which we confirmed on the FSC register. Mauritius is a low-protection jurisdiction, so this licence offers limited safety for international clients.
Can I withdraw my money from SmartSTP?
Many users report they cannot. The common story is that deposits are accepted, then withdrawals are delayed or refused, and clients are told to pay a tax, insurance or administration fee first. Paying that fee does not release the funds.
Is my money safe with SmartSTP?
We would not consider it safe. The offshore licence gives little protection, the operator carries a regulator warning under its old brand, and the withdrawal complaints are numerous and consistent.
Who owns SmartSTP?
The websites smartstp.com, smart-stp.com and smart-stp.net are owned and operated by MRL Investments (MU) Ltd, a Mauritius company (registration 187076GBC). The site does not name the individuals behind it.
Was SmartSTP called something else before?
Yes. SmartSTP is a rebrand of Equiity (equiity.com), run by the same company. The two sites share the same registrar and nameservers, and industry reviews list SmartSTP as formerly Equiity.
What is the Mauritius FSC licence worth?
It is a real licence, but Mauritius is an offshore regulator with limited enforcement for overseas retail clients and no meaningful compensation scheme. It shows the company exists and is licensed to deal, not that your money is protected.
Is SmartSTP a clone of another broker?
SmartSTP itself uses its own licence and is not currently impersonating another firm. Its predecessor brand, Equiity, was warned for impersonating the licensed broker Equiti. The two are unrelated companies.
What do reviews say about SmartSTP?
Trustpilot shows 1.6 out of 5 from 284 reviews, with 87 percent one-star. The dominant complaint is blocked withdrawals and pressure to deposit more. A batch of recent, milder reviews looks like reputation management.
I deposited and cannot withdraw. What should I do?
Stop sending money, including any requested tax or release fee. Save all records and account manager details. Ask your bank or card issuer about a chargeback, and report the case to the FSC Mauritius and your national regulator. Ignore anyone promising fund recovery for an upfront fee.
What should I check before depositing with any broker?
Confirm the licence on the regulator's own register, check the regulator's tier and level of protection, read independent reviews for withdrawal complaints, and be very cautious with offshore-only brokers and anyone asking for fees to release your own money.
What we recommend
The practical takeaway from everything above.
Treat SmartSTP as high risk and protect your money first.
- Do not deposit, and do not send extra money to release a withdrawal. No legitimate broker needs a tax or fee paid to it before it returns your funds.
- If you already deposited and cannot withdraw, stop paying, save every record (transfers, chats, account manager names), and ask your bank or card provider about a chargeback.
- Report the case to the FSC Mauritius and to your own national regulator.
- Be wary of anyone who contacts you offering to recover your funds for an upfront fee. That is a common follow-up scam.
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 September 15, 2026. If any detail here is out of date or incorrect, or you represent this broker, please contact us.
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