Central Bank of Ireland Issues Warning on Investment Firms

The Central Bank today published the names of six unauthorised investment firms who are either claiming to be or holding themselves out to be an investment firm in the State or have been offering investment services to members of the Irish public.

Bond Asset Management (UK, Germany & Hong Kong), Profidex Limited (Japan), Sun-Wealth Corporate Finance (Japan), Zheng Bridge Capital (China), CT Lambson & Associates, LLC (USA), have been offering investment services to members of the Irish public and are not authorised as investment firms in Ireland.

MMA Capital Markets Limited, also known as MMA Forex & MMA FX is claiming or holding itself out as an investment firm in the State. This firm also purports to be based in the United Arab Emirates.

A list of unauthorised firms published to date is available here.

It is a criminal offence for an investment firm to operate in Ireland unless it has an authorisation from the Central Bank of Ireland. Consumers should be aware that, if they deal with an investment firm which is not authorised, they are not eligible for compensation from the Investor Compensation Scheme.

Any person wishing to contact the Central Bank of Ireland with information regarding such firms may telephone (01) 224 4000. This line is also available to the public to check if an investment firm is authorised. Since obtaining the necessary legal powers in August 1998, the names of 191 unauthorised firms have been published by the Central Bank.

Notes to editors

The names of the above firms are published under the European Communities (Markets in Financial Instruments) Regulations 200