The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has just announced that it has fined the company Enness Limited (Enness DIFC) USD 105,000 (approximately AED 386,000) for engaging in unauthorised activity outside the scope of its Representative Office DFSA Licence.
As a Representative Office, Enness DIFC is only permitted to carry out a narrow set of activities in the DIFC relating to the marketing of mortgage services offered by its head office based in the United Kingdom.
According to regulator, between 2017 and 2019, Enness DIFC arranged mortgages and provided mortgage advice for its clients. However, the company was not authorised to engage in such activity.
Enness DIFC fully cooperated with the DFSA’s investigation and also agreed to settle the DFSA’s action at an early stage of the investigation and, therefore, qualified for a discount under the DFSA’s policy for early settlement.
Bryan Stirewalt, Chief Executive of the DFSA, commented on the news:
This action demonstrates that the DFSA takes the failure by Representative Offices to act within the scope of their Licences seriously. We expect that all Representative Offices in the DIFC understand what they are authorised to do, and have controls in place that ensure they only engage in authorised activities.
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