Dubai firm fined Dh5 million for failure to meet compliance regulations

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has imposed a fine of Dh5,023,375 on a firm for violating DFSA legislation on compliance systems.

The firm, R.J. O’Brien (Mena) Capital Limited, was found to have committed the following violations:

- It had not done sufficient planning and analysis to ensure it could comply with its ongoing regulatory obligations after acquiring an additional brokerage

- The senior management were aware of the lack of compliance resources and failed to adequately address it

However, the DFSA did not find any evidence that the firm acted deliberately to break the law. The authority also acknowledged the company agreed to remedy the deficiencies in its systems and engage an external compliance expert to assist and verify that the necessary remediation has been completed.

Taking this into account, the initially higher fine of Dh10,251,789 was reduced.

Patrick Meaney, Head of Enforcement of the DFSA, said: “Authorised firms must ensure that they have adequate compliance and other resources to be able to comply with their legal and regulatory obligations. Compliance is not an incidental cost of doing business, it is a critical function that must be adequately resourced in terms of both number and quality of staff."

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