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Austria’s FMA Issues a Warning Against Aduno Capital

Austria’s FMA said ADUNO Capital Group Ltd lacked the authorization required for specified banking activity in Austria. Here is what the 2019 warning means, what BaFin reported, and what affected investors should do.
From TheFinanceBase Team6 min to read
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Austria’s Financial Market Authority (FMA) published an investor warning against ADUNO Capital Group Ltd on July 9, 2019. The warning named the website www.adunocapital.com and the email address [email protected].

The FMA said ADUNO Capital was not entitled to conduct banking transactions in Austria that required a licence. In particular, it said the company was not permitted to trade in instruments on its own account or on behalf of others under the provision cited in the notice.

What the Austrian FMA warning says

The FMA’s notice is a licensing warning, not a recent announcement. It remains available on the regulator’s website under the title “ADUNO Capital Group Ltd”, but its publication date is July 9, 2019.

Detail Information in the FMA notice
Named business ADUNO Capital Group Ltd
Website www.adunocapital.com
Email [email protected]
Regulator Austrian Financial Market Authority
Publication date July 9, 2019
Core finding The provider lacked the Austrian authorization required for the specified banking activity
Gazette publication Amtsblatt zur Wiener Zeitung, July 9, 2019

The FMA described the publication as an investor warning under Article 4 paragraph 7 of the Austrian Banking Act (BWG). It also cited Article 1 paragraph 1 no. 7 BWG in stating that ADUNO Capital was not permitted to trade in instruments on its own account or on behalf of other parties.

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What the warning does—and does not—prove

A regulator’s warning about missing authorization is serious because a business may not legally provide regulated financial services in Austria without the required licence. However, the notice should be described precisely.

The FMA did not, in the warning itself:

  • describe ADUNO Capital as a “scam”;
  • announce a criminal conviction or fraud finding;
  • declare a worldwide ban;
  • determine that every interaction with every customer was fraudulent; or
  • decide whether individual customers are owed compensation.

The finding concerns authorization for specified banking activity in Austria. It does not automatically answer every question about the company’s corporate identity, conduct in other countries, or the legal status of a particular customer’s contract.

Related German warning

Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) published a related notice in July 2019. According to BaFin, ADUNO Capital presented itself as an Austrian-based broker and investment company, offered German-language trading accounts, and claimed access to more than 50,000 financial products.

BaFin said the company did not have the authorization required under Germany’s § 32 Kreditwesengesetz (KWG) to conduct banking or financial-services business in Germany. It also said ADUNO Capital was not authorized to operate cross-border toward German customers.

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BaFin reported an additional concern about licences allegedly cited by ADUNO Capital. It said those licences had actually been issued to XNT LTD., St. Julian’s, Malta. BaFin further reported that XNT LTD. told it ADUNO Capital had never been its cooperation partner and had no other relationship with it.

That account comes from BaFin’s publication, not from the Austrian FMA warning. It should not be simplified into a claim that ADUNO Capital was licensed by XNT LTD.; BaFin reported the opposite.

What an investor should do

If you sent money or personal documents to a business using the ADUNO Capital name or the named domain, preserve evidence before closing accounts or deleting messages.

  1. Stop sending additional money. Do not pay a supposed withdrawal fee, tax, verification charge, insurance premium, or recovery payment without independent legal and financial advice.
  2. Save the records. Keep contracts, account statements, deposit instructions, wallet addresses, transaction IDs, emails, chat logs, phone numbers, screenshots, and copies of identity documents you submitted.
  3. Contact the payment provider quickly. Ask your bank, card issuer, or payment service whether a transfer recall, card chargeback, or fraud review is possible. Success is not guaranteed, and speed matters.
  4. Secure exposed accounts. Change reused passwords, enable multifactor authentication, and monitor bank, card, email, and cryptocurrency accounts. If you gave remote access to a computer or phone, remove the software and have the device checked.
  5. Report the matter. Contact the relevant police or cybercrime reporting service and the financial regulator in your country. Include the FMA warning and your supporting records.
  6. Get advice about recovery. The FMA does not decide private compensation claims. The regulator says affected parties may need to pursue civil claims through the courts or seek help from investor- and consumer-protection organizations.

Possible compensation and legal claims

The FMA’s guidance on unauthorized business says that remuneration connected with unauthorized transactions—for example, interest or commissions—may become void under Article 100 BWG. That does not mean every investor automatically receives a refund, nor does it replace an assessment of the specific contract, payment route, jurisdiction, and evidence.

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Anyone considering a claim should obtain advice from a qualified lawyer or recognized consumer-protection organization. Avoid firms that guarantee recovery, demand an upfront fee, or claim to be acting for a regulator. People who have already lost money are often targeted by so-called recovery scams.

Check the date and the legal citation

The FMA warning reproduces the statutory wording and references applicable to its 2019 publication. Austrian legislation has since changed. In the current consolidated version of the BWG, some trading activities are cross-referenced to the Securities Supervision Act 2018 (WAG 2018).

For that reason, the 2019 citation should not be presented as though the wording of Austrian law has remained unchanged through 2026. The reliable points are that the FMA issued the warning on July 9, 2019 and stated that ADUNO Capital lacked the required Austrian authorization for the activity described.

How to verify a financial provider

Before depositing money with an online broker, lender, investment platform, or payment provider, use the regulator’s register—not a licence number or logo displayed on the company’s own website.

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  1. Identify the exact legal entity, not just the brand name.
  2. Check the regulator’s register for that entity and the specific service offered.
  3. Confirm that the website, email domain, and contact details match the official register.
  4. Check whether the authorization covers customers in your country.
  5. Be cautious if the firm pressures you to act quickly, promises unusually high returns, or asks for payment to unlock a withdrawal.

Similar names are not enough to establish that two businesses are connected. The FMA warning names ADUNO Capital Group Ltd and the domain adunocapital.com; it does not establish that the company was the same entity as unrelated businesses with similar names, such as Aduno Holding AG or Aduna Capital.

Sources: Austrian FMA warning; FMA guidance on unauthorized business; BaFin Journal, July 2019; current consolidated Austrian BWG.

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FAQ

When did Austria’s FMA warn against ADUNO Capital?

The FMA published its warning against ADUNO Capital Group Ltd on July 9, 2019. It remains available on the FMA website.

What did the FMA say about ADUNO Capital?

The FMA said ADUNO Capital was not entitled to conduct banking transactions in Austria that required a licence, including the specified trading activity described in the notice.

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Did the FMA call ADUNO Capital a scam?

No. The warning states that the company lacked the required Austrian authorization. It does not itself announce a criminal fraud finding or use the word “scam.”

Can the FMA recover my money?

The FMA does not decide private compensation claims. Affected customers generally need to contact their bank or payment provider promptly and consider advice from a lawyer or investor- and consumer-protection organization.

Was ADUNO Capital licensed by XNT LTD.?

BaFin reported that licences allegedly cited by ADUNO Capital had been issued to XNT LTD., and that XNT LTD. denied having a relationship with ADUNO Capital. The available regulatory account does not support saying ADUNO Capital was licensed by XNT LTD.

The Bottom Line

The FMA’s July 9, 2019 warning means that ADUNO Capital Group Ltd did not have the Austrian authorization required for the specified banking activity. It is not accurate to turn that licensing finding into a claim of a worldwide ban or a criminal conviction. If you dealt with the named business, stop further payments, preserve evidence, contact your payment provider immediately, and obtain independent advice about reporting and possible civil remedies.

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