FX firm head faces fraud, money laundering charges

The head of an Edmonton-based foreign exchange trading company is facing fraud and money laundering charges, amid allegations that millions of dollars of investors’ money is missing.

The RCMP’s Integrated Market Enforcement Team (IMET) in Calgary announced that a Canada-wide arrest warrant has been issued for the founder and president of Canadian Wealth Strategies Capital, a global FX trading business. 

Mark Douglas Alexander is facing charges of fraud over $5,000, money laundering and possession of proceeds of crime, following an investigation by the IMET, with support from Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), the Canada Border Services Agency and Passport Canada.

“The accused is alleged to have misappropriated more than $10 million in investor funds, transferring money from CWS accounts to other accounts under his control,” police said in a release. 

“A portion of the stolen funds were moved into cryptocurrency exchanges,” the RCMP added.

The allegations have not been proven, and he is presumed to be innocent. 

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.