The Dubai Financial Services Authority, which oversees financial activity within the Dubai International Financial Centre, has fined Gary Joseph Peters, a former investor at a DIFC-authorised firm, $210,000, equivalent to roughly Dh771,330. Peters provided misleading and deceptive information during a compulsory interview that formed part of a fitness and propriety assessment. He falsely denied having any prior criminal convictions, despite having separately pleaded guilty to three fraud-related cases in another jurisdiction. He also failed, despite repeated requests, to provide academic certificates or transcripts to substantiate the qualifications he had claimed.
The DFSA said Peters' conduct breached Article 66 and Article 69 of the Regulatory Law 2004. He had served as managing partner, public relations officer and chief operating officer at the firm from November 2020 to June 2022.
In addition to the financial penalty, the regulator has barred Peters from taking up employment with any DFSA-authorised firm and restricted him from conducting any business connected with the DIFC. The authority stated that Peters is now considered unfit to perform any function related to financial services in or from the DIFC. The ruling underscores the DFSA's continued scrutiny of honesty and disclosure standards among individuals operating within Dubai's financial free zone, as regulators tighten enforcement around fitness and propriety checks for industry professionals.