Exposure Hong Kong First Asia Merchant Gold & Silver Co., Ltd. (First Gold, Member No. 114) and its global exclusive agency platform PPLI: abnormal spread magnified 8 times, hedged accounts forcibly liquidated and blown up in violation of rules, refusal to provide evidence and evasion of compensation.
Institutions involved: Hong Kong First Asia Merchant Gold & Silver Co., Ltd. (First Gold, former Member No. 114 of the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange), Global agent: PPL International (PPLI)
Event details
I registered and opened a trading account with the platform through an agent on the Chinese mainland and conducted live XAUUSD gold trading.
At 20:30 on 2026-08-12, the account positions had been fully hedged with equal long and short positions. According to trading rules and industry practice, hedging should offset risks and should not trigger forced liquidation.
However, the platform's instantaneous spread abnormally surged from the normal daily level of about 0.4 USD to 3.41 USD, an 8-fold increase. This abnormal spread directly triggered the system's forced liquidation, directly causing an actual loss of 3,810.8 USD on the account.
Platform's handling
After the incident, I sent two formal complaint emails to the agent PPLI to assert my rights, and the platform issued two formal reply letters (dated 2026-08-19 and 2026-08-24).
1. It deliberately avoided the core fact of the 3.41 USD instantaneous spread and vaguely attributed it to "extreme market conditions\", shifting all losses to the investor;
2. I requested the provision of LP liquidity quotes and underlying transaction/delivery records for the time of the incident, but the platform refused to provide evidence citing \"commercial confidentiality";
3. Without consulting me or obtaining my consent, it unilaterally credited 159.2 USD to my trading account as compensation and declared the dispute settled. I have never accepted this compensation plan, and this amount does not represent a settlement;
4. It refused to respond to why hedged positions were forcibly liquidated, provided no solution for the loss, and passively and obstinately refused to take responsibility.
Suspected issues of the platform
1. Defective quoting mechanism: the instantaneous abnormal spread far exceeded reasonable market fluctuations, shifting platform risk onto traders;
2. Hedged positions were forcibly liquidated in violation of rules, contrary to the trading mechanism;
3. Asymmetric trading information: the interface only shows Bid prices, and the huge spread on the Ask side is not recorded on the candlestick chart, making it impossible for investors to anticipate risks;
4. Abuse of standard form disclaimer clauses to exempt itself from liability without limitation;
5. Violation of complaint handling procedures: unauthorized transfer of funds and forcible closure of the case without consent.
My demands
1. The platform shall provide the complete quote logs, liquidity transaction records, and forced liquidation system logs for 20:30 on August 12;
2. Full compensation for the loss of 3,810.8 USD caused by this abnormal forced liquidation and interest on the occupied funds;
3. I earnestly request the platform to expose this dispute, mediate the conflict between both parties, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of mainland investors.
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