The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) is the financial services regulator of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). We alert the financial services community and members of the public of a number of fraudulent investment schemes that appear to involve the DIFC and DFSA.

* Individuals claiming to be representing His Excellency Ahmed Humaid Al Tayer, the Governor of the DIFC have been inviting individuals to participate as “investor portfolio holders and administrator.” The email offers individuals an opportunity to share in a backlog of “Excess Maximum Return Capital Profits (EMRCP)”, and may appear attractive to individuals seeking finance. These emails are linked to organized fraud and the DFSA strongly advises you not to respond to the invitation. Further details on this scam can be found at: http://www.dfsa.ae/Alerts/DispForm.aspx?ID=23

* Individuals impersonating companies and offering loans and investments to potential victims. The terms of these fictitious loans are usually quite favorable and carry the promise of swift finalization. In order to avail themselves of these loans the victim is told that they must be registered by the DFSA or that a fee is required in return for regulatory approval. A false letter is often used bearing the DFSA letterhead. Further details on this scam can be found at: http://www.dfsa.ae/Alerts/DispForm.aspx?ID=26

The DFSA does not charge any fees to the clients of a Firm it regulates. The DFSA, therefore strongly advises you to be very wary of Firms who claim to be charging fees which are payable to the DFSA.

If you have any concerns about the authenticity of a Firm’s Regulatory status, or any DFSA correspondence you can direct your concerns to the DFSA using the Complaints function on our website at:

http://www.dfsa.ae/Pages/Complaints