The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a notice to potential investors, notifying that a retail FX and purported wealth management company which operates under the name of Garnier Global Finance is imitating the name and address of a bona fide company.
This practice, which the FCA refers to as cloning, involves a bogus, unregulated company which seeks to dupe investors into believing that they are investing with a long established, regulated company.
Unscrupulous companies carry this out by generating websites which are similar in appearance to those of the bona fide companies, as well as using similar names and address details.
In this particular case, Garnier Global Finance, a French language site which offers retail FX and fund management, is a flagrant clone of FCA regulated investment company Westhouse Securities Ltd. The clone company claims to operate from 17 Finsbury Square London EC2A, UK, and has a website www.garniergf.com
The FCA clarifies that Westhouse Securities Ltd is a long-established, London-based company operated by Bryan Garnier, and is registered at Heron Tower 110 Bishopsgate, London, UNITED KINGDOM, EC2N 4AY, under the FCA reference number 114265.
Clients and potential investors are advised to deal only with the regulated firm and ensure to contact Westhouse Securities to ensure that they are conducting business with the correct company.
For the official announcement from the FCA, click here.