AB TRADES Review

Our review of AB Trades (ABTrades) began with a systematic cross-check of the broker's regulatory status, corporate registration, and the real-world experience of traders who have used the platform. We examined public registers, the company's own disclosures, and aggregated industry data, and we weighed the user-review record with particular attention to withdrawal complaints and allegations of misconduct.

We did not rely on the broker's marketing materials or on isolated testimonials. Instead, we built a picture from the structured data provided, including the company's registration details, its stated licensing status, and the balance of positive and negative user reviews. Where the data is silent — such as on spreads, leverage, or specific fees — we say so plainly rather than guess.

Our goal is to give retail traders a clear, evidence-led assessment of whether AB Trades is a safe counterparty or a risk they should avoid. The FXCanary Scam Risk Score of 75/100 (Severe) is the starting point, and the sections below explain how we reached that conclusion.

AB Trades operates under the legal name Alpha Star Marketing Management, registered in the United Arab Emirates. The company's registered address is Nassima Tower, Trade Center 1, Sheikh Zayed Road, Office 901, in Dubai. The company was founded on 9 August 2023, according to the data provided, although the company description claims ABTrades was registered in 2011 — a discrepancy we note without being able to resolve from public records.

What is more telling is the company's size: the data shows zero employees. That is a red flag for any financial services firm, because a broker that cannot demonstrate a team of qualified staff is unlikely to have the operational capacity to handle client funds, execute trades, and provide support in a reliable manner. A zero-employee count also makes it difficult to verify who is actually running the firm and where accountability lies.

The address itself — a well-known commercial tower in Dubai — does not confer legitimacy on its own. Many shell companies and unregulated brokers use prestigious addresses to appear credible. Our assessment is that the registration details, while publicly available, do not provide evidence of a substantive, operational business.

The most critical issue with AB Trades is that it has no verified license on file. Our cross-check of regulatory registers found no licence from any financial authority, and the company itself does not claim to be regulated. The data lists zero regulators, and the company description explicitly states that ABTrades is 'not regulated by any financial institutions.'

This is a fundamental problem for any trader. Regulation is the primary mechanism that protects client funds, ensures fair trading practices, and provides recourse in the event of a dispute. Without a licence from a reputable authority — such as the UK's FCA, Cyprus's CySEC, or even a recognised offshore regulator — there is no independent oversight, no mandatory segregation of client money, and no compensation scheme to fall back on if the broker fails or disappears.

In the UAE, financial services are overseen by the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), but we found no evidence that AB Trades holds an SCA licence. The absence of any licence means that traders have no regulatory body to complain to, and no legal protection if the broker refuses to return their funds. In our assessment, this alone justifies a severe risk warning.

The structured data does not disclose specific account tiers, minimum deposits, or leverage levels for AB Trades. This lack of transparency is itself a concern, because reputable brokers typically publish their account types, spreads, and leverage clearly on their websites. Without this information, traders cannot make an informed decision about whether the trading conditions are competitive or fair.

What we do know is that AB Trades offers CFD trading products and two trading platforms: WebTrader and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). MT5 is a well-known and widely used platform, which suggests that the broker has some level of technical infrastructure. However, the platform alone does not make a broker trustworthy.

The user reviews mention that the broker's representatives push clients to pay for a 'trainer' for 1,000 AED before they can start using the application. This is not a standard account feature and appears to be an additional, undisclosed cost. We also note that the company description says it is not clear how spreads work or how demo accounts function, which adds to the overall lack of transparency.

The user review record for AB Trades is overwhelmingly negative when it comes to deposits and withdrawals. One reviewer reported depositing money and seeing profits on their account, but being unable to withdraw any funds unless they deposited more money. Another reviewer described being told to deposit into a site called 'expressmarkets.net' — a different domain from the broker's own — and then being asked to pay an additional $1,000 to 'activate' their account before they could withdraw their own $300 deposit.

These accounts are consistent with common withdrawal-blocking tactics used by fraudulent brokers. The pattern is clear: the broker encourages deposits, shows fake or unrealised profits to keep the client engaged, and then demands further payments before releasing any funds. In some cases, the broker may never release funds at all.

We found two withdrawal-related complaints in the data, and both are negative. There are no positive reports of successful withdrawals. This is a critical red flag. A broker that cannot or will not return client funds is not a legitimate trading venue, regardless of how professional its platform or website may look.

AB Trades claims to offer a wide range of CFD trading products, which typically include forex, indices, commodities, and possibly cryptocurrencies. However, the specific instruments are not disclosed in the data we have. CFDs are leveraged products that carry a high risk of loss, and they are particularly dangerous when offered by unregulated brokers, because there is no oversight of pricing, execution, or margin requirements.

The broker provides two platforms: WebTrader and MetaTrader 5. MT5 is a legitimate and popular platform used by many brokers, but its presence does not indicate that the broker itself is legitimate. Fraudulent brokers often use well-known platforms to gain credibility while manipulating the trading environment behind the scenes.

We were unable to verify the quality of execution, the spreads, or the reliability of the platforms from the data provided. The company description itself admits that it is not clear how spreads work, which is a significant omission for a broker that expects traders to deposit real money.

The structured data does not provide any information on spreads, commissions, or other trading fees for AB Trades. This is a major gap, because trading costs directly affect a trader's profitability. Without clear disclosure, traders cannot compare AB Trades with other brokers, and they may be subjected to hidden charges or wide spreads that erode their capital.

What we do know from user reviews is that there are unexpected costs, such as the $1,000 'activation' fee and the 1,000 AED trainer fee. These are not standard trading costs; they are additional demands made by the broker or its representatives, and they are a hallmark of advance-fee fraud. Legitimate brokers do not ask clients to pay extra fees to unlock their own funds or to access basic features.

In our assessment, the lack of fee transparency, combined with the reports of arbitrary charges, makes it impossible to recommend AB Trades as a cost-effective or honest broker.

The user review record for AB Trades is small but damning. Out of the reviews we analysed, the majority are 1-star ratings, with only two 5-star reviews. The positive reviews are vague and appear to be promotional in nature, praising the 'good experience' and the helpfulness of a salesperson, but they do not mention any concrete details about trading conditions, withdrawals, or regulation.

In contrast, the negative reviews describe specific, serious problems. One reviewer wrote: 'Total scam. Had me deposit money, showed profit, but won't let me withdraw any money unless I deposit more.' Another said: 'This is a huge scam! Don't let anyone deceive you. No matter what they promise, you’ll never get paid.' A third reviewer mentioned a representative named Shamil, who allegedly pressured them to pay for a trainer and noted that the broker is not regulated in the UAE.

These reviews align with the broader pattern of unregulated brokers that use aggressive sales tactics, promise high returns, and then block withdrawals. The two positive reviews are outweighed by the specific, credible allegations of fraud. In our analysis, the user record strongly supports the severe risk rating.

The aggregated industry data we consulted shows a Trustpilot score of 2.5 out of 5, based on only 7 reviews, and no rating on Forex Peace Army. These scores are low, but the small number of reviews means they should be interpreted with caution. However, when we combine these scores with the specific complaints about blocked withdrawals and unregulated status, the picture becomes clearer.

Our independent read of the evidence — the lack of any licence, the zero-employee count, the contradictory registration dates, the withdrawal complaints, and the reports of unexpected fees — leads us to a more severe conclusion than the raw scores alone might suggest. The FXCanary Scam Risk Score of 75/100 reflects not just the negative reviews, but the structural red flags that indicate a high probability of fraudulent behaviour.

We also note that no clone or impersonator sites were found, which means the broker is not a copy of a legitimate firm. Instead, it appears to be an original entity that is operating without regulation and with a pattern of complaints that is consistent with a scam.

In our assessment, AB Trades is a high-risk broker that we cannot recommend to any trader. The absence of regulation, the zero-employee operation, the lack of transparency on fees and trading conditions, and the consistent reports of withdrawal problems all point to a broker that is likely to defraud its clients. The FXCanary Scam Risk Score of 75/100 (Severe) is justified by the evidence.

If you are considering depositing money with AB Trades, we strongly advise against it. If you have already deposited funds, we recommend that you stop further payments immediately and do not pay any additional 'activation' or 'trainer' fees, as these are almost certainly attempts to extract more money from you. You should also report the broker to your local financial regulator and to the UAE authorities, and consider seeking legal advice if you have lost money.

For your own safety, always choose a broker that is regulated by a reputable authority, has a clear and transparent fee structure, and has a track record of processing withdrawals without delay. The evidence we have gathered on AB Trades shows that it fails on all of these counts.