Banque Louis – Louis Group Isle of Man
This notice is issued by the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority (“FSA”) in accordance with the powers conferred upon it under Section 30 of the Financial Services Act 2008.
Banque Louis – Louis Group Isle of Man
http://labanquelouis.com
The FSA has recently become aware of the website http://labanquelouis.com representing the purported entity Banque Louis claiming to be a Swiss family bank. Within the website there is a link to a purported subsidiary company namely Louis Group Isle of Man. Contact details shown, indicate an address for Banque Louis of Louis Building, 29 Bucks Road, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 3DE and there is a statement that Louis Group Isle of Man (sic) is licensed by the Isle of Man Financial Supervision Commission.
The FSA wishes to draw attention to the following observations:
The address, 29, Bucks Road, Douglas, Isle of Man was formerly associated with, inter alia, the Isle of Man incorporated company Louis Group (IOM) Limited (in liquidation). The company no longer operates from that address.
Louis Group (IOM) Limited has held Class 2 (Investment Business), Class 4 (Corporate Services) and Class 5 (Trust Services) licences with the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority (formerly Financial Supervision Commission). It has never held a licence to carry on, or hold itself out as carrying on, in or from the Island Class 1 (Deposit Taking) activities.
To carry on, or hold out as carrying on, Deposit Taking (Banking) services in or from the Isle of Man requires a licence issued by the FSA. A search of all entities licensed by the FSA can be found at:
https://www.iomfsa.im/register-search/
No entity by the name of Banque Louis has ever held any licence to carry on, or hold itself out as carrying on any regulated activity in or from the Isle of Man, including Deposit Taking (banking).
No entity by the name of Banque Louis has been incorporated in the Isle of Man, been registered as a Business Name in the Isle of Man or has registered as a foreign company which has established a place of business in the Isle of Man.
A search of all genuine companies incorporated in the Isle of Man, Business Names registered in the Isle of Man and foreign companies registered as establishing a place of business in the Isle of Man can be conducted at https://services.gov.im/ded/services/companiesregistry/companysearch.iom
Under the circumstances, the FSA feels that any person who accesses the website http://labanquelouis.com may potentially become the victim of an Advanced Fee Fraud or may fall victim to an attempt at gaining personal data from the recipient in order to steal their identity or for other fraudulent purposes.
General advice on how to avoid becoming a victim to identity theft and advanced fee frauds can be found on the Action Fraud website at http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/ID and http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/fraud-az-advance-fee-fraud respectively.
Any persons who are already involved in any dealings with the potentially fraudulent website http://labanquelouis.com should consider notifying their local Police.
Anyone with general concerns concerning any individual or company holding themselves out as conducting a regulated activity in or from the Isle of Man without the requisite licence should contact the Enforcement Division at the Authority on +44 1624 689311 or by e-mail to info@iomfsa.im for advice.
FSA Reference: NR/01/2018