kapil pandit (mechanical Manager) 15 October 2025

How to recover money from online forex broker who refuses to release payment

Hello everyone,

I’m seeking legal advice regarding a problem I’m facing with an online forex broker. I came across an investment offer on WhatsApp promising daily returns. I contacted the broker, shared my KYC documents, and deposited some amount for trading.

Initially, the broker showed some profits in the account using his algorithm trading software, but later started demanding additional payments, claiming there was a margin shortfall. Clearly, he said perticular percentage of profit will be aimed for daily trades insuring perticular percentage daily stop loss. One day, he without informing me made high amount trades and was not able to close trades. He says until I pay certain amount , he is not able to buy certain quantity and close open trade position. This is requirement of algorithm software. Despite my repeated requests, he has not released my withdrawal amount and is continuously asking for above said money.

It’s been quite some time, and I’m under mental stress because my funds are stuck and I’m not sure if this is a genuine issue or a fraudulent activity.

I want to know:

1. What is the proper legal way to recover my money from such a broker?

2. Should I file a police complaint for cheating and fraud under cybercrime?

3. Is it possible to trace and take legal action if the broker is operating through WhatsApp and online trading links?

Any advice from advocates experienced in financial or cyber fraud cases would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

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5 Replies

T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Advocate) 15 October 2025

You lodge a criminal complaint with police for the offences of cheating, fraud and breach of trust and also make a complaint to SEBI in this regard.

Ravikant Mani Tripathi (Advocate at District and session court Sultanpur Uttar Pradesh ) 15 October 2025

First of all approach cyber crime thana and lodge a written complaint against him for making fake commitments to fraudelently take money from you,lodge other complaint in the CM portal, make one complain to SEBI too moreover file one 156(3) case for criminal breach of trust and forgery allong with cyber crime charges under the IT act.

Dr. J C Vashista (Advocate ) 16 October 2025

It is a clear case of cheating, fraud and impersonation, move to area police station and file a complaint for registration of FIR

P. Venu (Advocate) 16 October 2025

Is this broker functioning with statutory approval?

kapil pandit (mechanical Manager) 26 October 2025

Thank you for your response and guidance.

The broker claims to have all necessary documents and says that their office is located in Delhi. However, after I filed a complaint on the Cyber Police portal, no e-FIR has been registered yet. The broker has kept my trading account active with open positions, and as of today, the account shows a loss of more than 800 USD.

This situation has caused me severe stress, as it involves my life savings. I request your further guidance on what steps I should take next to ensure that an e-FIR is registered and that the matter is properly investigated.

I would also like to mention that forex trading is not regulated by SEBI in India, but there are several international regulatory bodies that oversee such activities globally. The foreign exchange (forex) market has existed for over a century and is the world’s largest decentralized financial market, where currency pairs such as USD/CAD are traded daily. The prices of international currencies fluctuate constantly based on global demand and supply.

However, for a small investor like me, the scale and complexity of this market are comparable to that of the Bombay Stock Exchange, and it is extremely difficult to safeguard one’s investment without proper regulation. Moreover, several financial institutions and banks borrow and lend through the forex market, which further increases its influence on the global economy.

Given these complexities, I seek advice on how I can verify whether this particular broker (Icon Forex) is legally recognized or registered under any statutory or international regulatory authority.

Should I approach the local cyber cell or the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) with printed copies of my complaint, transaction details, and chat records for faster investigation?

Thank you once again for your time and expert advice.