Dublin law firm A&L Goodbody, has taken the unusual step of putting notices in the Irish and Japanese press saying that a company called Promontoria Global Investment V LLC is not one of its clients. The firm points out that it is not "in any way connected or associated with the offering of shares" by the company.

Promontoria is being investigated by the Garda fraud squad, which is seeking the assistance of the Japanese authorities to establish who is behind the company, which has used Goodbody's name on its promotional literature. It is believed Promontoria may be being marketed to Japanese investors as an IFSC based investment vehicle. Goodbody declined to comment on the notices yesterday saying that a Garda investigation was underway.