Norway FSA Relays FCA Warning on londoncourtlimited Clone of Previously Authorized Firm

Key Takeaways

• The Norway Financial Supervisory Authority (Finanstilsynet) has published a warning, originally issued by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), about a clone of a previously FCA-authorized firm operating as londoncourtlimited.
• Clone firm fraud exploits the credentials of legitimate entities to deceive investors, so compliance teams should update screening controls and client-facing warnings.

Deep Dive

The notice is a relayed warning. The source material identifies the United Kingdom as issuer and links to an FCA warning page about a clone of a previously FCA-authorized firm. The Norwegian listing contains no detail beyond the entity name, issuer, and link. Details such as the identity of the legitimate firm, the fraudulent domains, contact details, and the products offered must be taken from the FCA page. We have not independently verified that content, and teams should review it directly before acting.

Clone firms copy the name, address, or Firm Reference Number of a genuine or formerly authorized entity to appear legitimate. Victims are typically targeted with investment, loan, or recovery-type offers and may be directed to transfer funds to accounts controlled by fraudsters. The involvement of a previously authorized firm raises the risk that the entity appears on historic registers, making superficial checks unreliable. No deadlines or mandatory requirements are stated. This is an alert, not a rule change, but it supports ongoing expectations for fraud prevention, AML controls, and customer protection.

Recommended actions: (1) Add "londoncourtlimited" and any related domains, names, and identifiers from the FCA notice to sanctions, adverse media, and internal watchlists. (2) Search customer and counterparty records, and recent payment activity, for matches or links to the entity. (3) Review transaction monitoring rules for payments to beneficiaries connected with the clone, and escalate suspicious activity through the normal reporting channels, including Norwegian and UK suspicious activity reporting where applicable. (4) Alert fraud, onboarding, and customer service teams, and consider a customer-facing notice for retail and wealth clients who might be targeted.

Risk implications: Exposure is moderate for institutions with Norwegian or UK clients, correspondent relationships, or payment flows touching UK-based counterparties. Principal risks include facilitating fraud proceeds, weak counterparty due diligence, and reputational harm if customers are victimized. Teams should also reinforce verification procedures, including confirming authorization status directly with the regulator's register and using independently sourced contact details rather than those supplied by the counterparty.

Source: Norway Financial Supervisory Authority