Compliance

Dubai Regulator Suspends Advisor For Six Years

Sandra Kilhof Reporter 8 October 2013

Dubai Regulator Suspends Advisor For Six Years

A financial advisor from Dubai has been suspended for six years by the emirate's financial regulator over unethical conduct.

The Dubai Financial Services Authority has restricted the activities of Jaime Corona for unethical behaviour, when he was advising clients about the value of their investment portfolios. As such, Corona is banned from performing any financial services functions in Dubai for a period of six years.

The DFSA said Corona engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct, in relation to investments, by providing two Dubai-based clients falsified portfolio account statements, which indicated that the value of their portfolios were significantly greater than their actual value.

"Corona is not a person who is fit and proper to provide financial services in the DIFC," the DFSA said in a statement, while adding that the conduct of Corona came to the attention of the regulator after he left the United Arab Emirates.

“People who act unethically cannot avoid the DFSA’s scrutiny by leaving the jurisdiction or failing to communicate with the regulator. The DFSA may impose sanctions on those who contravene its laws regardless of their location,” added Ian Johnston, chief executive of the DFSA.

During the course of the investigation, Corona failed to respond to DFSA communications.

The ruling against him is the latest in a series issued by the Dubai financial watchdog. Earlier this month, United Investment Bank was fined $50,000 for providing funds with bad service by flouting the regulator's safe custody requirements. As part of the fine, UIB cannot provide custody to funds again until it has fulfilled all the points in a stringent agreement that it has signed with the DFSA.

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