In a press statement announcing the extension of their commission-free stocks offering to clients in Asia-Pacific, eToro shared that 11% of their customers in Malaysia.

In response to Fintech News Malaysia’s clarification of the eToro’s legality to operate in Malaysia, the platform said that investors in Asia are “regulated under eToro’s Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) license” and “therefore investors can trade through the ASIC license”

To verify this we reached out to Securities Commission Malaysia, a spokesperson then replied with this official statement.

“eToro is not licensed or registered by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) to carry out any regulated activities in Malaysia including operating a recognised market through an on-line platform. Any person carrying out regulated activity in Malaysia without a licence or registration from/by the SC may, if convicted be liable to a fine not exceeding RM10 million or imprisonment not exceeding ten years or both.

Malaysian investors who deal with unlicensed persons, especially entities operating offshore are not protected under Malaysian securities laws. They are also exposed to various risks including fraud and money laundering and may not have access to legal recourse in the event of a dispute.”