About six months after giving up its Cyprus licence, Squared Financial appears to have gone dark on its Seychelles-based offshore operations as well. The contracts for difference (CFD) broker is not allowing new account openings for either individuals or corporate clients.The broker's website is constantly showing the message "failed to check email. Please try again" on every attempt made by Finance Magnates from various locations.Traders Are Blasting Their Complaints OnlineFurthermore, review websites such as Trustpilot have been flooded with complaints from traders, who appear to have accounts under the Seychelles unit, about their inability to withdraw funds in June and July. Many are also complaining that they have been unable to contact the broker’s customer support to check the status of their funds.Meanwhile, Trustpilot has also placed a warning on the broker’s page after it “detected and removed a number of fake reviews.”The chaos is not limited to online activity. Squared Financial’s former Managing Director for its Nigerian business, Temitope Ijibadejo, went on record on local news outlet Independent to raise concerns about the broker’s operations and reportedly filed a petition with the local authorities over the pending withdrawals. He is seeking an investigation into the company’s financial operations and the whereabouts of funds belonging to Nigerian investors.According to the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles, Squared Financial’s securities dealer licence is still active.Ijibadejo revealed that he escalated the issue to Squared Financial’s executive management after the Nigerian office began receiving too many complaints about withdrawals around May. He also approached Squared’s founder and CEO, Philippe Ghanem, who told him around the end of May that the company intended to wind down its operations.Ghanem, who founded the broker in 2005, has, interestingly, no mentions of Squared Financial on his LinkedIn profile.Finance Magnates approached both Squared Financial and Ghanem to hear their side of the situation, but did not receive any response as of press time.First Cyprus, then OffshoreSquared Financial had a significant presence in Cyprus, with physical offices. The broker, however, wrapped up its business there last year by giving up its Cyprus licence, which it had passported to offer services across the European bloc.Finance Magnates understands that the broker has closed its Cyprus office and no longer has any staff on the island.On the Cyprus business register, however, the company is still listed as active, indicating that the liquidation is still pending.The exit came soon after the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) settled with Squared for €35,000 over potential violations related to the marketing and distribution of CFD products to retail clients. Interestingly, at the same time, the Cypriot regulator also settled with the Seychelles-based offshore unit of Squared for €50,000.Although CySEC settling with Cyprus-based entities is common, its settlement with an entity based in the Seychelles was very unusual.According to Ijibadejo, who is no longer with the broker, Squared’s founder, Ghanem, linked the withdrawal freeze to “an alleged court-related freezing order in Cyprus.”This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.