- Regulatory requirement: All banking, financial, and investment services in Germany require BaFin authorization
- Fraudulent claim: Website falsely associates itself with FINMA-supervised Horizon Investment S.A.
- Verification method: BaFin maintains a public database of authorized companies
BaFin, Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, has issued a public warning against horizoninvestmentsa(.)com, a website operating unauthorized financial services while fraudulently impersonating a legitimate Swiss-regulated firm. The operators of the site falsely claim affiliation with Horizon Investment S.A., which is supervised by Switzerland’s FINMA (Financial Market Supervisory Authority), constituting a case of identity fraud.
Under Section 37(4) of the German Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz), any entity providing financial services to German consumers must obtain prior authorization from BaFin. The supervisory authority identified that horizoninvestmentsa(.)com offers such services without the required licensing, representing a violation of German financial regulation.
BaFin, working alongside the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and state criminal police offices, urged consumers to exercise extreme caution when investing online. Prospective investors should conduct thorough due diligence before committing capital and verify regulatory status through official channels. BaFin maintains a dedicated section on its website detailing current warnings about unlicensed operators and providing guidance on fraud prevention in financial markets.
Consumers can verify whether a financial services provider holds proper authorization by consulting BaFin‘s official database of regulated companies. The warning reflects ongoing regulatory concerns about internet-based financial fraud targeting German retail investors.
