The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) alerts the financial services community and members of the public about a fraudulent website which misuses the logo of the DIFC and falsely claims that a company called “FFA (UK) Limited” is based in the DIFC and that it and another company, “Mercury Assets Limited”, are regulated by the DFSA.

The website inaccurately and illegitimately replicates information that can be found on the DIFC Public Register, including the registered number of a DFSA regulated firm with a similar name that has no connection to the scam. It also makes numerous false claims that the companies “FFA (UK) Limited” and “Mercury Assets Limited” are licensed and regulated to provide financial services by the DFSA.  It also falsely describes the DFSA as “the UK Financial Services Authority”.

A print out of two pages from the website can be found here.

The DFSA confirms that the information on the website is false. The DFSA informs you that:

• there are no companies registered in the DIFC or regulated by the DFSA with the names “FFA (UK) Limited” or “Mercury Assets Limited”;
• the DIFC registered number quoted on the fraudulent website is registered to an unconnected DFSA regulated firm; and
• the DFSA has no remit or connection to an entity described as “the UK Financial Services Authority”.

The DFSA strongly advises that you do not respond to any communication regarding the scam, and under no circumstances should you send or give any money to any party in connection with the scam.

The DFSA clarifies that this alert is not related to the legitimate UK-registered company FFA (UK) Limited (UK company number 10321248).

The DFSA has a page on its website dedicated to alerts which it has issued about scams. All alerts issued by the DFSA may be accessed by going to: ALERTS

The DFSA has also issued warnings and guidance about the common types of scams perpetrated on consumers. For more information on these scams, please go to: HOW TO AVOID BEING SCAMMED

The DFSA encourages consumers to refer to the list of regulated Firms and Authorised Individuals licensed by the DFSA that is available on the DFSA's PUBLIC REGISTER

If you have any concerns about the authenticity of any correspondence or documents that purport to be issued by the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), DFSA or a DFSA regulated Firm, you should direct your concerns to the DIFC on Tel:+971 4 362 2222 and to the DFSA via the DFSA Complaints function on: COMPLAINTS