On the website, the operator is simply referred to as “SWK Invest”, and there is no information regarding its legal form. The website does not provide any details of the operator’s registered office and does not contain a legal notice. The operator is running a fraudulent business model.

BaFin has ascertained that the (unknown) operator of the website swkinvest.com has, without any transition period, taken over the business activities of the trading platform kingdom-investments.io, which was the subject of a warning issued by BaFin on 7 February 2023. In correspondence with customers, SWK Invest claims to have its registered office at the business address of the bank Süd-West-Kreditbank Finanzierung GmbH. This bank is authorised by BaFin. SWK Invest, however, does not hold authorisation from BaFin. In using the abbreviation “SWK”, the company is committing identity fraud against Süd-West-Kreditbank Finanzierung GmbH.

BaFin also has information that employees of SWK Invest have been using clearly falsified documents for their business activities, including documents allegedly from the US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This is intended to create the impression that the company is legitimate.

Anyone conducting banking business or providing financial or investment services in Germany may do so only with authorisation from BaFin. However, some companies offer these services without the required authorisation. Information on whether a particular company has been granted authorisation by BaFin can be found in BaFin’s database of companies.

The information provided by BaFin is based on section 37 (4) of the German Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz – KWG).