AMOVA Asset Management Ireland Limited (Clone) - Central Bank of Ireland Issues Warning on Unauthorised Firm

What Changed

• - The CBI has formally designated “AMOVA Asset Management Ireland Limited (Clone)” as an unauthorised investment firm, investment business firm and crypto‑asset service provider for the purposes of its Warning Notice regime.
• The Warning Notice confirms that the clone entity is not authorised to operate in Ireland and must not be treated as a regulated counterparty or service provider.
• The CBI explicitly clarifies there is no connection whatsoever between the Central Bank‑authorised firm of the same name and the scam entity, reinforcing expectations for firms to distinguish between legitimate entities and clones.
• The publication reiterates that the entity is using website and email details (including the domain amova‑assets.com and the email admin@amova‑asset.com) to approach consumers, which should be treated as red‑flag identifiers in onboarding and surveil
• By publishing the firm name under section 53 of the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013, the CBI reinforces its ongoing supervisory focus on clone‑firm frauds and the expectation that firms systematically consult the Warning List as p
• The notice reiterates that suspected unauthorised activity should be reported directly to the CBI via telephone or the online reporting facility, reinforcing an expectation of active reporting by market participants.

Suggested Considerations

• Configure name‑screening tools, CRM systems and vendor/onboarding databases to flag “AMOVA Asset Management Ireland Limited”, “AMOVA Asset Management Ireland Limited (Clone)”, the website domain “amova‑assets.com” and the email “admin@amova‑asset.com” as high‑risk indicators requiring escalation.
• Implement controls to distinguish between the legitimate CBI‑authorised AMOVA firm and the clone, for example by storing verified legal entity identifiers (LEIs), company registration numbers, CBI authorisation numbers and official domains for the legitimate firm.
• Train relationship managers, advisers, client‑facing staff and call‑centre teams to recognise characteristics of clone‑firm scams, including cloned names, look‑alike websites and unsolicited approaches, using this warning and recent similar CBI notices as case studies.
• Review and, where necessary, strengthen client‑communication and investor‑education materials to explain the risk of clone firms, directing clients to the CBI’s public registers and warning notices to independently verify firm authorisation.
• Enhance fraud‑risk and financial crime risk assessments to explicitly include clone‑firm risks in the investment, wealth‑management, and crypto‑asset channels, and document how these risks are mitigated (e.g. screening, call‑back controls, domain verification).
• Update third‑party and introducer due diligence policies to require verification of any use of the AMOVA brand or similar names, and to prohibit introductions to entities that appear on the CBI Warning List or cannot demonstrate clear authorisation status.

Key Dates

Who is Affected