A class action seeking A$948 million is advancing through Australia's Federal Court against International Capital Markets Pty Ltd and the firm's billionaire founder, Andrew Budzinski. The opt-out deadline passed at 4pm AEST on 2 December 2025. Thousands of retail CFD traders who did not return an opt-out form are now automatically bound to the consolidated proceedings as the case progresses toward trial.
The proceeding — Bain and Anor v International Capital Markets Pty Ltd (VID1088/2023) — consolidates two separate class actions originally filed in 2023 and 2024. Justice O'Bryan of the Federal Court ordered the consolidation on 2 August 2024, with Echo Law acting as solicitors on the record and Piper Alderman joining as agent. The class period runs from 20 December 2017 to 23 August 2024 — a seven-year window covering some of IC Markets' most profitable years as a retail CFD issuer.
What the Class Action Alleges
The consolidated statement of claim alleges IC Markets engaged in misleading, deceptive, and unconscionable conduct in the supply of contracts for difference to retail investors. Specifically, it contends the firm:
- Failed to adequately warn clients of the significant risks inherent in highly leveraged CFD trading
- Failed to exercise reasonable care to avoid investor losses
- Breached Australian Consumer Law prohibitions on conflicted remuneration
- Took active steps to avoid proposed regulatory intervention by ASIC
- Facilitated poor decision-making and encouraged continuous trading throughout the class period
Both IC Markets and Andrew Budzinski deny all allegations. IC Markets' legal team has characterised the action as "an attack on the CFD industry," noting it is one of four class actions brought against major Australian CFD providers during the same period.
A$948 Million: The Dividends Behind the Damages Claim
The quantum of the claim — A$948 million — corresponds directly to dividends Budzinski paid himself during the class period: A$167 million in 2018, A$359 million in 2019, and A$422 million in 2020. That final year coincides precisely with the COVID-era surge in retail trading, when lockdown-era investors poured capital into online CFD accounts globally and losses among inexperienced traders were severe and well-documented.
Budzinski was listed as Australia's 65th wealthiest person in 2024, with a net worth of A$2.71 billion. He owns IC Markets through his privately held Bud Corporation and has since relocated to the UAE. He has stated publicly that his employment contract with IC Markets ended in 2017 and that he was not employed by the firm during the class period. A spokeswoman confirmed that claims "are denied and are being vigorously defended."
A Firm That Stopped Filing With Its Own Regulator
IC Markets' Australian entity has not filed financial reports with ASIC since late 2021. For a firm processing more than A$1.3 trillion in monthly trading volume, the lapse is not trivial. Litigants and retail traders pursuing the largest pending claim against a forex and CFD broker in Australian legal history currently have no visibility into the financial position of the entity they are suing.
The consolidated class action is backed by litigation funder CASL, meaning group members face no out-of-pocket legal costs regardless of the outcome. Defences from both IC Markets and Budzinski were filed in December 2024. Case management is ongoing before Justice O'Bryan.
The Wider Context: Four CFD Class Actions Running in Parallel
The IC Markets proceeding is not an isolated event. Three other class actions against major Australian CFD providers are running concurrently through the Federal Court. Together they represent a coordinated legal challenge to the product distribution model that made the Australian CFD industry one of the most profitable retail trading sectors globally between 2017 and 2021.
ASIC's product intervention order — reducing maximum leverage on major currency pairs from 500:1 to 30:1 for retail clients — came into force on 29 March 2021. The class period in the IC Markets action ends in August 2024, well after the ASIC intervention, suggesting the claim extends to conduct during the post-intervention period as well as the high-leverage era that preceded it.
A plaintiff victory in the IC Markets case would set the legal standard for how CFD issuers must treat retail clients across long class periods in Australia. It would also likely prompt ASIC to revisit the adequacy of the product intervention regime and possibly tighten supervision of the remaining large-scale domestic CFD issuers.
BestForex.io View
What This Means for Retail Traders Using IC Markets
IC Markets remains one of the world's largest retail forex and CFD brokers by trading volume, and the existence of this class action does not change its regulatory status. The firm holds an AFSL from ASIC, is regulated in multiple jurisdictions, and continues to operate normally. Traders using IC Markets today are not directly affected by the proceeding in any operational sense.
What the case does reveal is the risk profile that comes with trading highly leveraged CFDs during periods of market volatility — and the fact that regulators, courts, and litigation funders are now scrutinising whether brokers adequately disclosed those risks. The class period covers 2017–2024, a span that includes both the high-leverage era pre-ASIC intervention and the post-intervention period.
For traders evaluating IC Markets today, BestForex.io's view is straightforward: the legal proceedings are unresolved allegations, not findings. IC Markets has denied all claims. The case has not produced any verdict, penalty, or licence action. We will update this article as the proceedings develop.
BestForex.io does not recommend that traders move or withdraw funds based on unresolved civil proceedings. If you have concerns about your account, contact IC Markets directly or seek independent financial advice.
About the Company
About International Capital Markets Pty Ltd (IC Markets)
International Capital Markets Pty Ltd, trading as IC Markets, is an Australian-founded forex and CFD broker established in 2007 in Sydney. It operates under Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) number 335692, issued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). IC Markets is widely recognised as one of the highest-volume retail ECN/STP forex and CFD brokers globally.
Founded
2007 — Sydney, Australia
Regulation
ASIC (AFSL 335692), CySEC, FSA (Seychelles)
Monthly Trading Volume
A$1.3 trillion+
Founder / Owner
Andrew Budzinski (via Bud Corporation)
IC Markets offers trading in forex, indices, commodities, metals, energy, bonds, equities, and cryptocurrencies via the MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and cTrader platforms. The firm is particularly known for its raw spread ECN pricing model, which has made it a preferred broker among professional and algorithmic traders.
The firm operates a global structure, with entities regulated in Cyprus (CySEC) and Seychelles (FSA) serving clients outside Australia. The Australian entity (International Capital Markets Pty Ltd) is the subject of the current Federal Court class action. IC Markets Global (the Seychelles-regulated entity) is a separate legal entity and is not named in the current proceedings.
Editor's note: All allegations in this article reflect the claims made in the consolidated statement of claim filed in the Federal Court of Australia. IC Markets and Andrew Budzinski deny all allegations. No finding of liability has been made by any court. BestForex.io will continue to follow the proceedings as they develop. This article is not legal advice. Last updated: 18 July 2026.