It is well known that the UK's Financial Conduct Authority does not manage to obtain all the money that it levies on firms for their misconduct in final notices; the Dubai Financial Services Authority is having similar problems.

The DFSA has recently obtained judgement in the Dubai International Centre's Court of First Instance to force a man it fined to make payment.

In May last year, the DFSA took action against Mr Andrew John Grimes, imposing a fine of US$52,500 (192,675 dirhams) and stopping him from performing any function in connection with the provision of financial services in or from the financial centre, which the DFSA regulates.

The regulator punished Grimes because in 2014 he was knowingly concerned in undertaking illegal insurance intermediation activities, he failed to take reasonable care to ensure that the business for which he was responsible complied with the law of the DIFC, and he misled the DFSA.

Grimes did not challenge the regulator’s findings against him. If he had done so, he would have filed an acknowledgment of service to indicate that he had received the claim and intended to defend some or all of it, or contest the court's jurisdiction to deal with the claim.

The judgment reads: "The defendant has not (i) applied to the DIFC courts to have the claimant's statement of case struck out under RDC4.16 [RDC = rules of the DIFC courts]; for immediate judgment under RDC Part 24 (RDC13.6(1)); (ii) satisfied the whole claim (including any claim for costs) on which the claimant is seeking judgment; or (iii) filed or served on the claimant an admission under RDC15.14 or 15.24 together with a request for time to pay (RDC13.6(3))."