The regulatory authority found ‘serious concerns’ regarding the actions of a former approved individual of IFSQ and IFSQ’s systems and controls in relation to that conduct.
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The Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) has decided to publicly censure International Financial Services Qatar (IFSQ) after it found certain serious misconducts on many counts.
The regulatory authority found “serious concerns” regarding the actions of a former approved individual of IFSQ and IFSQ’s systems and controls in relation to that conduct. “The QFCRA considered IFSQ’s contraventions to be serious, with the potential to undermine the confidence of current and prospective users of the QFC,” its spokesman said.
The QFCRA found that IFSQ managed clients’ investments breached the scope of authorisation, in contravention of Article 11(2) of the QFC Law; IFSQ’s record-keeping systems were not adequate in ensuring that client files contained appropriate historical records of client communications and IFSQ failed to keep appropriate records of client communications, as required under rule 6.2.6 of the General Rulebook.
IFSQ’s corporate governance processes and senior management personnel also failed to ensure that its affairs were managed effectively, in contravention of Rule 2.1.3 of the Principles Rulebook (PRIN); and that IFSQ failed to ensure that it had effective systems and controls in place, including risk management systems and adequate human and technological resources, in contravention of rule 2.1.4 of PRIN. IFSQ demonstrated a commitment to settle the matter and reported the conduct to the QFCRA. IFSQ cooperated with the QFCRA during the course of the investigation of the matter. IFSQ also undertook significant remedial steps to address the QFCRA’s concerns and has agreed to compensate clients who were impacted by the actions of its former approved individual.