Further warnings on suspect or bogus companies claiming to have ties to the Island are up on the website of investor watchdog, the Bermuda Monetary Authority.

The beefed up list ? after an update in late February ? follows the BMA publishing details last August of sham operators on its website, as a way of alerting the public to be wary of doing business with any of the firms listed.

The regulatory body's revised warning list increased the number of bogus companies listed to 22 from 12 in August.

The names of the entities now listed are Alliance Central Bank, ASD Bank of Bermuda (no connection to the Bank of Bermuda), Aurum Capital Partners Limited, Bermuda Credit Reinsurance Bank Ltd. (or BCRB Credit Re-Insurance Bank Ltd. or BCR Bank), BGF International Holdings Ltd.;

Brabus Private Investment Club, Certusia Reinsurance Company Inc., Certusia Reinsurance Group, Crowne Global Group Ltd., European Union Fund, Hamilton Trust Ltd. (no connection to Hamilton Trust Company Limited), Global Investment Company, International Credit Union, Medical Risk Associates RPG, Ltd.;

Offshore & Global Investments Corporation, Offshore Financial Services, Professional Liability Insurance Company Ltd., Soros Holland Investment Fund IV, Standard Financial Trust, Trafalgar Insurance Company Limited, Trans Atlantic Financial Trust Group, Unimed and Western Equities Limited.

The BMA said these were all entities that were purporting to be licensed, regulated or established in Bermuda.

But warned that the companies were falsely representing themselves and that investors should be wary, and to do business with the companies was at their own risk. The warning list can be accessed from a sidebar link at www.bma.bm.

The BMA also recently launched a new design for its website. The previous layout carried a theme based on the Green Shutters building, Burnaby Street which was the Authority's headquarters until recently.