At least 2,500 people who claim to have been defrauded by binary options and forex companies – many of which operate from Israel – are being pursued through a London law firm.

Gabriele Giambrone, managing partner at Giambrone Law, told Times of Israel that at least 120 binary options and forex companies, which claim to facilitate investment in the currency markets, will be named as defendants in an upcoming lawsuit at the High Court of Justice in London.

It has been alleged that while the companies claim to offer clients investment options, what they are actually offering is gambling.

Twenty of those companies have direct links to Israel and many more are suspected of such links.

Mr Giambrone wrote in a letter to Israel’s Justice Ministry on April 5: “The Israeli regulatory and enforcement authorities have so far failed to take any action, despite the widespread knowledge of where these companies are based, which offices they are operating from and who are the individuals behind it. It appears that none of the regulators are interested, so investor protection falls down the chasm between the net.”

Mr Giambrone told Times of Israel that his clients, who were allegedly defrauded by Israeli binary options firms, include many residents of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.