UK 20:23 Wednesday, 23 September 2026
Breaking news and expert analysis on fast-moving AIM and LSE listed shares
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from ShareProphets). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
A message has just gone up on the Plus500 (PUS) website for all clients which suggests that something may be horribly wrong at the AIM listed company about which we have warned several times on this website. The shares are off 20% as I write - at 605p - but the bear community reckons the stock could still head straight off the cliff face from here. Sell.
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Comments
B Sanderson
I couldn’t find that many articles on this site apart from Simon C shorting the share in 2014, the trading statement being too good to be sure against a RNS. And one of your guys saying how since Simon C doesn’t get google he wouldn’t get PLUS.
TW Note: The bear portfolios we ran ( top 10 bear stocks from EK, ME, LM & myselfDaniel Victor
Interesting.You get this ‘KYC’ [stands for know your customer] stuff regularly regularly if you open accounts with overseas bookmakers.Don’t recall getting it while betting with UK bookies using a debit card,or from IG Index,Sporting Index or Spreadex [I’m sure I would if I wasn’t a UK resident and citizen on the electoral register]. It wouldn’t surprise me to hear that a more cautious policy on KYC was perfectly legal.
Its me
This is a big Fuck up!! in basic terms my take is that there have been major failings in client take on procedures. Looking at the FCA register it seems there have been recent changes in CF10&11 positions.
From the RNS “Currently c.50% of Plus500’s revenue is derived from Plus500UK, and c.45% of Plus500UK’s customers have passed Plus500’s electronic verification process and are therefore allowed to trade” therefore less than half of the clients which generate half of the company revenue can trade. AML is basic and easy, I wonder about suitability and appropriateness? If I had traded and lost money I would be asking for a refund,“Plus500UK has notified and is in close dialogue with the FCA in respect of these changes to its AML processes.” or in other words “We fucked up please fine us……… again” Plus500 have previously been fined for trade reporting failures.
I will be shorting this one
CHARTMAN
“…Until the review has been satisfactorily carried out, you will be unable to open any new trades on your account, deposit or withdraw funds….”
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This chills my blood to the core for reasons entirely unconnected with Plus 500.
This year so far:
Cyprus goverment froze it’s citizens savings accounts and froze all ATM’s, (Can’t remember did it also syphoned off 10% to help pay national debts?)
Germany made a helpful offer to Greece that it will help in freezing wealthy Greek bank accounts.
Wasn’t there something similar done with Greek bank savings accounts?
And didn’t Nigeria seize all savings accounts some years back, or maybe that was Nigerian government ministers committing fraud and theft? (Posting this off the top of my head).
The hold-physical-gold fanatic websites have been going on endlessly for recent years now, that when the time comes for currency collapse (they’re convinced it’s not an ‘if’ but a ‘when’) governments freeze savings accounts overnight; and “legally” confiscate them
There’s Youtube vids galore of former economic advsers, ex CIA types et al – warning that if you hear a public announcement on a Friday afternoon that there’s been a ‘banking software glitch and therefore bank accounts will be frozen over the weekend to sort it’, you have 72 hours before you lose total control of your savings.
I seem to be hearing of more and more examples of “we are temporarily freezing your account; don’t worry you will be able to access it soon”.
Is it just me or is this thing happening with increasing frequency?
Jimbo
Why do you think Bitcoin and associated crypto currencies are gaining in popularity? They effectively provide both an alternative transactional payments system that is global in reach and sits outside of the banking system. This is what I think the majority of people don’t understand about Bitcoin. It’s not so much the alternative currency aspects. It’s the global remittance aspects and the fact you currently have no counterparty risk on the banking system and most importantly, zero dependency on SWIFT.
A government could attempt to confiscate a Bitcoin wallet, but unless they can crack 256 bit encryption, they’re not getting into it without the owner’s consent.
Just my tuppence worth as somebody who thinks the banking system faces major upheaval in the coming years due to sovereign debt issues.