It has come to the attention of the Central Bank of Ireland (‘Central Bank’) that a firm calling itself MLC Management (CLONE) (UK) – formerly operating the website www.mlcmanagement.com, has been operating as an investment firm / investment business firm in the State in the absence of appropriate authorisations.
This unauthorised firm has cloned and is using the details of the legitimate firms Waystone Fund Management (IE) Limited and Waystone Investment Management (IE) Limited (former trading name and FCA registration number respectively), which are authorised by the Central Bank. The details of the legitimate companies are being misused in order to add an air of legitimacy to the scam and to conceal the identity of those responsible. It should be noted that there is no connection whatsoever between the Central Bank authorised firms and the unauthorised entity that has cloned their details.
A list of unauthorised firms published to date is available on the Central Bank website.
It is a criminal offence for an unauthorised firm to provide financial services in Ireland that would require an authorisation under the relevant legislation for which the Central Bank is the responsible body for enforcing. Consumers should be aware, that if they deal with a firm that is not authorised, they are not eligible for compensation from the Investor Compensation Scheme.
Fraudsters are increasingly using legitimate firms’ details to add an air of legitimacy to their fraud. The fraudsters will ‚borrow‘ some or all of the legitimate information of an authorised / legitimate firm for the purpose of this fraud. They may quote authorisation numbers / company registration numbers and links to seemingly legitimate websites and even provide the real address of an authorised / legitimate firm. Consumers are advised to check our register to verify a firm’s details and to call the firm back directly using its advertised phone number. Always access the register from our website, rather than through links in emails or on a firm’s / person’s website.