Two small investors are holding a financial services company and the regulator responsible for a failed investment.

Stone mason Joseph Gialanzè and his wife, Carmen, a housewife, said they bought a financial product from Global Capital Financial Management Limited that should never have been offered to them.

In a judicial protest, they said they had basic education and could not even understand English let alone write it. The complex product they were sold was meant for professional and experienced investors and not for them, they complained.

The Gialanzès accused the company of benefitting from their inexperience after they were made to sign documents they did not understand the importance of.

They felt that the Malta Financial Services Authority did not carry out its obligations as a regulator and so contributed to their loss.

Lawyer Pawlu Lia signed the protest.