Abu Dhabi GM regulator fines six financial institutions for reporting breaches

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has imposed penalties on six financial institutions totalling AED 170,000 for contraventions of the Common Reporting Standard Regulations 2017. 

The regulator did not name the financial institutions in its statement on 12 February.

The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) governs the collection of financial account and tax-related information and its global exchange between international regulatory bodies. It sets out the scope of financial information to be collected and reported by the required financial institutions, in addition to the due diligence procedures to be followed by those financial institutions.

CRS was developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and established in the United Arab Emirates in 2017.

The actions taken by the FSRA address failures (to the extent applicable in each case) to:

• follow due diligence procedures as required by the Regulations;
• keep records of the performance of due diligence;
• report required information in a complete and accurate manner; and/or
• submit the required annual information return.

Emmanuel Givanakis, chief executive officer of the FSRA at ADGM, said: “ADGM is committed to complying with international standards. The FSRA actively supports the UAE’s commitment to international tax information exchange as part of a broader national agenda to enhance financial transparency.

"We achieve this through maintaining a robust supervisory framework and enforcement regime. Compliance with the requirements of the CRS is a top priority of the FSRA, as it aligns with our objective to promote and enhance the integrity of the ADGM financial system. We are steadfast in our commitment to take regulatory action against practices intended to circumvent tax reporting”.