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The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has fined brokerage R J O’Brien $1.37 million for having inadequate compliance resources.
The firm contravened DFSA legislation by having inadequate compliance resources.
The fine was reduced from $2.79 million partly because the firm offered the DFSA an enforceable undertaking (EU) to remediate the failings and agreed to settle the matter, a statement from the DFSA said.
The authority said R J O’Brien, which is based in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) did not undertake sufficient planning and analysis to ensure it could comply with regulatory obligations after acquiring a brokerage.
“The firm’s senior management were aware of the lack of compliance resources and failed to adequately address it to ensure that the compliance function was able to fulfil its regulatory obligations,” the DFSA said, adding that it had not found any evidence that the firm acted deliberately to contravene laws and rules.
Patrick Meaney, head of enforcement, 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.”
(Reporting by Imogen Lillywhite; editing by Daniel Luiz)
