The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the independent banking, financial services, and markets regulator of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), has been awarded approximately US$143,000 towards its external and internal legal costs by the Financial Markets Tribunal (FMT) following a reference by Al Ramz Capital LLC of a DFSA Decision Notice dated 13th June 2024.

This is the first case in which the DFSA has sought recovery of its internal legal costs in proceedings before the FMT, with all internal costs relating to Al Ramz’s privacy application and 25 percent of the internal costs claimed for the substantive reference being awarded.

It also reflects the extent to which the FMT accepted the DFSA’s submissions that Al Ramz had acted unreasonably in certain aspects of the reference. These included not narrowing the issues at an earlier stage, pursuing factual arguments that had little prospect of success, and raising an argument about subjectivity in suspecting market abuse at a very late stage in the reference rather than during the earlier DFSA Decision Maker process.

Alan Linning, Managing Director, Enforcement, of the DFSA, commented, “The DFSA fully supports the right of firms and individuals to challenge its enforcement decisions and to apply for privacy where appropriate. However, this decision makes clear that where a party pursues arguments unreasonably, or advances arguments it should know have no merit, it may be required to contribute to the DFSA’s costs in addition to paying any financial penalty imposed.”