Squared Financial’s Offshore Operation Goes Dark, Withdrawal-Related Complaints Mount

Squared Financial's Seychelles-licensed operation appears to have halted new client onboarding, roughly six months after the CFD broker gave up its Cyprus licence. Attempts to open individual or corporate accounts through the firm's website fail with a repeated "failed to check email. Please try again" error message.

Client complaints about blocked withdrawals have piled up on review platforms such as Trustpilot. Traders with accounts under the Seychelles entity say they could not pull funds during June and July and struggled to reach customer support. Trustpilot has also flagged the broker's page after saying it removed a number of fake reviews.

The disruption has drawn attention beyond online forums. Temitope Ijibadejo, formerly managing director of Squared Financial's Nigerian business, went public through the local outlet Independent and reportedly filed a petition with authorities seeking an investigation into the company's financial operations and the fate of Nigerian investor funds. Ijibadejo, who no longer works at the broker, said he escalated withdrawal complaints to senior management in May and that founder and CEO Philippe Ghanem indicated around the end of that month that the company intended to wind down its operations.

Cyprus Exit and Regulatory Settlements

Squared Financial closed its Cypriot operations last year, giving up a licence it had used to passport services across the European bloc. The Cyprus office has been shut and staff let go, though the company's Cyprus entity remains listed as active in the local business register, suggesting liquidation is still in progress. The retreat followed a CySEC settlement with Squared for €35,000 over potential violations in the marketing and distribution of CFDs to retail clients; CySEC simultaneously settled with the broker's Seychelles unit for €50,000, an unusual move given that the entity was not based in Cyprus.

The Seychelles Financial Services Authority still lists Squared Financial's securities dealer licence as active. Ijibadejo said Ghanem attributed the withdrawal freeze to an alleged court-related freezing order in Cyprus. Squared Financial and Ghanem did not respond to requests for comment.