On 7 April 2022, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) introduced a new whistleblowing regime (the Regime).
The Regime has significant parallels with that enforced in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), although certain of the more advanced requirements incorporated into the FCA’s regime are yet to be introduced by the DFSA.
The Regime aims to provide better legal protection for those who report concerns within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), improve whistleblowing culture in DFSA regulated entities, encourage greater reporting (both internally and to the DFSA itself) and promote an ethical culture within the DIFC by deterring wrongdoing. It builds upon the existing framework which governs those businesses in the DIFC which fall under the supervision of the DFSA.
DFSA regulated firms now need to implement an appropriate whistleblowing programme (no grace period for implementation is provided by the Regime). In focusing on the design and implementation, relevant firms would do well to consider the best practice approaches already well established within many FCA regulated institutions in the UK.
On 7 April 2022, changes to DIFC Regulatory Law 2004 and the DFSA Rulebook came into force, to implement proposals concerning a whistleblowing regime that were consulted on by the DFSA in 2021. The Regime applies to all entities regulated by the DFSA (Regulated Entities), which must now...
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