KOT4X

A summary of what happened?

KOT4X, established in 2019, is an offshore brokerage firm registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It offers trading services across various financial instruments, including forex, cryptocurrencies, commodities, and indices. Despite its offerings, KOT4X has been the subject of several concerns and complaints from the trading community.

Regulatory Status

KOT4X operates without regulation from major financial authorities. Its registration in St. Vincent and the Grenadines does not equate to stringent oversight, leading to concerns about the firm’s adherence to industry standards and the safety of client funds.

Client Complaints and Accusations

• Slippage and Trade Execution Issues: Traders have reported significant slippage, particularly with instruments like the US30 index. One user noted being stopped out at a much lower price than set, resulting in unexpected losses.
  Forex Peace Army
• Unresponsive Customer Support: Some clients have expressed dissatisfaction with the responsiveness and effectiveness of KOT4X’s customer service, citing delays and inadequate resolutions to issues.
• Withdrawal Delays: There are accounts of prolonged withdrawal processes, causing frustration among traders seeking timely access to their funds.

Allegations of Censorship

KOT4X has been accused of attempting to suppress negative reviews by threatening legal action or requesting content removal, raising concerns about transparency and accountability.

While KOT4X provides a range of trading services, its lack of regulation, coupled with reported issues related to trade execution, customer support, withdrawal processes, and alleged censorship efforts, raises significant concerns. Potential clients are advised to exercise caution and conduct thorough due diligence before engaging with KOT4X.

Analyzing the Fake Copyright Notice(s)

Our team collects and analyses fraudulent copyright takedown requests, legal complaints, and other efforts to remove critical information from the internet. Through our investigative reporting, we examine the prevalence and operation of an organized censorship industry, predominantly funded by criminal entities, oligarchs, and disreputable businesses or individuals. Our findings allow internet users to gain insight into these censorship schemes’ sources, methods, and underlying objectives.

What was KOT4X trying to hide?

KOT4X‘s attempts to hide unfavourable content through the misuse of copyright notices while allegedly engaging in perjury present serious legal concerns. These actions suggest a calculated attempt to manipulate legal systems to suppress free speech, a fundamental violation of copyright law principles and an abuse of legal processes. The use of such tactics not only undermines the integrity of copyright protection but also potentially constitutes perjury, further entangling KOT4X in legal accountability. Let’s examine the information KOT4X may be trying to remove from the internet –

In-Depth Investigative Report: KOT4X – Complaints, Allegations, and Operational Concerns

Introduction

KOT4X, also known as King of Transparency, is an offshore brokerage firm established in 2019 and registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It offers trading services in forex, cryptocurrencies, commodities, and indices, catering primarily to retail clients. Despite its wide range of offerings, KOT4X has faced significant criticism and complaints, raising questions about its transparency, regulatory compliance, and client treatment.

1. Regulatory Status and Oversight

Offshore Registration

• KOT4X operates under the jurisdiction of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a well-known hub for offshore brokers due to its lenient regulatory environment.
• Unlike brokers regulated by financial authorities such as the FCA (UK) or ASIC (Australia), KOT4X is not subject to strict oversight, leaving client funds unprotected in case of disputes or insolvency.

Lack of Regulation

• KOT4X explicitly states that it is an unregulated broker, which means:
  • Client funds are not safeguarded by compensation schemes.
  • The broker is not obligated to adhere to standard financial industry practices.
• This lack of regulation has led to concerns about the safety of funds and the broker’s accountability.

2. Major Complaints and Allegations

2.1. Trade Execution Issues

• Slippage Problems:
  • Multiple traders have reported significant slippage, especially with highly volatile instruments like the US30 index.
  • Users complain about being stopped out of trades at prices far below their set stop-loss levels, leading to substantial losses.
  • These discrepancies raise concerns about the reliability of KOT4X’s trade execution and whether such issues are systemic.
• Manipulated Spreads:
  • Traders allege that KOT4X artificially widens spreads during high-impact news events, making it difficult to execute trades at favorable prices.

2.2. Withdrawal Difficulties

• Clients frequently cite delays in processing withdrawal requests:
  • Withdrawal times often exceed the promised 24-48 hour timeframe.
  • In some cases, clients have reported that withdrawals were denied or ignored entirely without explanation.
• The broker’s reliance on cryptocurrencies for deposits and withdrawals has drawn criticism, as it adds an additional layer of complexity and reduces traceability for transactions.

2.3. Customer Support Complaints

• Many users describe the customer service as unresponsive and unhelpful:
  • Support tickets are reportedly left unanswered for extended periods.
  • The live chat feature often fails to provide satisfactory resolutions.
• This lack of effective communication exacerbates client frustration, particularly during disputes involving withdrawals or trade discrepancies.

2.4. Allegations of Censorship

• Suppression of Negative Reviews:
  • KOT4X has been accused of attempting to suppress unfavorable reviews on platforms like Myfxbook and ForexPeaceArmy.
  • Users claim the broker has threatened legal action or requested content removal to silence criticism.
• Such practices raise serious concerns about the broker’s commitment to transparency and accountability.

3. Negative Feedback and Client Reviews

Public Review Platforms

• ForexPeaceArmy:
  • KOT4X has received mixed reviews, with many traders accusing the broker of unethical practices such as slippage manipulation and withdrawal delays.
• Myfxbook:
  • Clients highlight recurring issues with trade execution and customer support, with some labeling the broker as unreliable.

Specific User Complaints

1. A trader from the US reported losing over $5,000 due to slippage on a US30 trade, which was executed at a price significantly different from the expected level.
2. Another client alleged that a withdrawal request for $2,000 was delayed for three weeks, despite multiple follow-ups with customer support.

Positive Feedback

• Despite the numerous complaints, some users praise KOT4X for its user-friendly trading platform and the availability of cryptocurrency pairs. However, these reviews are often overshadowed by the volume of negative feedback.

4. Operational Concerns

Cryptocurrency-Only Transactions

• KOT4X requires clients to deposit and withdraw funds exclusively in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. While this offers flexibility for crypto-savvy traders, it raises concerns for others:
  • Cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible, making it difficult for clients to recover funds in cases of disputes.
  • The lack of traditional payment methods like credit cards or bank transfers further reduces client protection.

Opaque Business Practices

• The broker provides limited information about its management and operational structure, which is unusual for legitimate financial service providers.
• This lack of transparency raises doubts about the broker’s intentions and the safety of client funds.

5. Broader Implications for Traders

High Risk of Financial Loss

• The combination of unregulated operations, withdrawal issues, and questionable trade execution practices exposes traders to significant financial risks.

Legal Recourse Challenges

• Offshore registration in St. Vincent and the Grenadines complicates legal recourse for affected clients. Traders must navigate complex international laws to pursue claims, often with little chance of success.

Reputation Among the Trading Community

• KOT4X’s reputation has suffered due to persistent complaints and allegations. The broker is often cited as an example of the risks associated with unregulated offshore brokers.

6. Recommendations for Traders

1. Avoid Unregulated Brokers:
   • Choose brokers regulated by reputable authorities (e.g., FCA, ASIC, CySEC) to ensure fund protection and access to dispute resolution mechanisms.
2. Test Services with Small Deposits:
   • Before committing significant funds, test the broker’s trading platform and withdrawal process with small deposits.
3. Conduct Independent Research:
   • Verify claims made by brokers and rely on multiple review platforms to assess their reliability.
4. Be Cautious with Cryptocurrency Transactions:
   • Understand the risks associated with cryptocurrency-based deposits and withdrawals, particularly the lack of reversibility.

Conclusion

KOT4X’s operations raise several red flags, from withdrawal delays and trade execution discrepancies to regulatory shortcomings and allegations of censorship. While the broker may appeal to traders seeking access to cryptocurrency markets, the risks associated with its unregulated status and recurring complaints are significant.

Potential clients are strongly advised to exercise caution and prioritize brokers with a proven track record of transparency, regulation, and customer satisfaction. KOT4X’s practices serve as a stark reminder of the importance of thorough due diligence when selecting a trading partner.

How do we counteract this malpractice?

Once we ascertain the involvement of KOT4X (or actors working on behalf of KOT4X), we will inform KOT4X of our findings via Electronic Mail.

Our preliminary assessment suggests that KOT4X may have engaged a third-party reputation management agency or expert, which, either independently or under direct authorization from KOT4X, initiated efforts to remove adverse online content, including potentially fraudulent DMCA takedown requests. We will extend an opportunity to KOT4X to provide details regarding their communications with the agency or expert, as well as the identification of the individual(s) responsible for executing these false DMCA notices.

Failure to respond in a timely manner will necessitate a reassessment of our initial assumptions. In such an event, we will be compelled to take appropriate legal action to rectify the unlawful conduct and take the following steps –

Since KOT4X made such efforts to hide something online, it seems fit to ensure that this article and sensitive information targeted online by these events get a lot more exposure and traffic than what it would have received originally

We hope this becomes an excellent case study for the Streisand effect…The key idea behind the Streisand effect is that efforts to restrict information can backfire, often causing the information to gain more attention than it would have otherwise. This effect is widespread in the digital age, where users quickly notice and spread censorship efforts on social media and other platforms. Trying to suppress something can unintentionally lead to it becoming more visible, which KOT4X is finding out the hard way.

Potential Consequences for KOT4X

Under Florida Statute 831.01, the crime of Forgery is committed when a person falsifies, alters, counterfeits, or forges a document that carries “legal efficacy” with the intent to injure or defraud another person or entity.

Forging a document is considered a white-collar crime. It involves altering, changing, or modifying a document to deceive another person. It can also include passing along copies of documents that are known to be false. In many states in the US, falsifying a document is a crime punishable as a felony.

Additionally, under most laws, “fraud on the court” is where “a party has sentiently set in motion some unconscionable scheme calculated to interfere with the judicial system’s ability impartially to adjudicate a matter by improperly influencing the trier of fact or unfairly hampering the presentation of the opposing party’s claim or defense.”  Cox v. Burke, 706 So. 2d 43, 46 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) (quoting Aoude v. Mobil Oil Corp., 892 F.2d 1115, 1118 (1st Cir. 1989)).

Is KOT4X Committing a Cyber Crime?

Yes, it seems so. KOT4X used multiple approaches to remove unwanted material from review sites and Google’s search results. Thanks to protections allowing freedom of speech in the United States, there are very few legal ways to do this. KOT4X could not eliminate negative reviews or search results that linked to them without a valid claim of defamation, copyright infringement, or some other clear breach of the law.

Faced with these limitations, some companies like KOT4X have gone to extreme lengths to fraudulently claim copyright ownership over a negative review in the hopes of taking it down.

Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. KOT4X is certainly keeping interesting company here….

The DMCA takedown process requires that copyright owners submit a takedown notice to an ISP identifying the allegedly infringing content and declaring, under penalty of perjury, that they have a good faith belief that the content is infringing. The ISP must then promptly remove or disable access to the content. The alleged infringer can then submit a counter-notice, and if the copyright owner does not take legal action within 10 to 14 days, the ISP can restore the content.

Since these platforms are predominantly based in the U.S., the complaints are typically made under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which requires online service providers and platforms to react immediately to reports or violations. Big Tech companies rarely have systems in place to assess the merit of each report. Instead, all bad actors need to do is clone a story, backdate it, and then demand the real thing be taken down.

Reputation Agency's Modus Operandi

The fake DMCA notices we found always use the “back-dated article” technique. With this technique, the wrongful notice sender (or copier) creates a copy of a “true original” article and back-dates it, creating a “fake original” article (a copy of the true original) that, at first glance, appears to have been published before the true original.

Then, based on the claim that this backdated article is the “original,” the scammers send a DMCA to the relevant online service providers (e.g. Google), alleging that the ‘true’ original is the copied or “infringing” article and that the copied article is the “original,” requesting the takedown of the ‘true’ original article. After sending the DMCA request, the person who sent the wrong notice takes down the fake original URL, likely to make sure that the article doesn’t stay online in any way. If the takedown notice is successful, the disappearance from the internet of information is most likely to be legitimate speech.

As an integral part of this scheme, the ‘reputation management’ company hired by KOT4X creates a website that purports to be a ‘news’ site. This site is designed to look legitimate at a glance, but any degree of scrutiny reveals it as the charade it is.

The company copies the ‘negative’ content and posts it “on the fake ‘news’ site, attributing it to a separate author,” then gives it “a false publication date on the ‘news’ website that predated the original publication.

The reputation company then sent Google a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice claiming the original website infringed copyright. After a cursory examination of the fake news site, Google frequently accepts the notice and delists the content.

In committing numerous offences, KOT4X either premeditated actions or were unaware of the consequences. Despite hiring an agency to make Google disregard any negative information about KOT4X, ignorance does not excuse this wrongdoing.

Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. FSMSmart is certainly keeping interesting company here.

The Reputation Laundering

Rogue Reputation agencies use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking clients to allegations of tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking. Most of these reputation agencies are based offshore, mainly in Russia, India, and Eastern Europe, and they do not worry about complying with US-based laws.

The content in all of the articles for which the fraudulent DMCA notices have been sent relates to allegations of criminal allegations, including corruption, child abuse, sexual harassment, human trafficking and financial fraud against businesses and individuals with ultra-high net worth.

In addition to the misuse of the DMCA takedown process, there is a notable absence of enforcement concerning perjury violations. The statutory requirement related to perjury is designed to deter copyright holders from submitting fraudulent or knowingly false takedown requests, as they may face legal consequences for making false declarations under penalty of perjury. However, to date, there have been no known instances of any individual being prosecuted for perjury in connection with the submission of false DMCA takedown notices.

This lack of enforcement has emboldened copyright holders to exploit the DMCA takedown process to suppress dissent, criticism, or other unfavorable content, without fear of legal repercussions.

Some of the people and businesses who have employed this tactic to remove legitimate content from Google illegally include a Spanish businessman-turned-cocaine-trafficker, Organised crime, an Israeli-Argentine banker accused of laundering money for Hugo Chávez’s regime, a French “responsible” mining company accused of tax evasion, child molesters and sexual predators. KOT4X is in great company ….

What else is KOT4X hiding?

We encourage you to ‘Dork‘ Google by searching for keyword combinations such as [KOT4X] + {Negative Keyword, such as Scam, Fraud, Complaints, Lawsuit, Sanction, etc} on Google. It’s likely if you scroll down to the bottom of this Google search results, you’ll stumble upon this Legal Takedown notice (pictured below)

To make such an investigation possible, we encourage more online service providers to come forward and share copies of content removal requests with industry experts and researchers. If you have any information on KOT4X that you want to share with experts and journalists, kindly email the author directly at [email protected].

All communications are strictly confidential and safeguarded under a comprehensive Whistleblower Policy, ensuring full protection and anonymity for individuals who provide information.