The DIFC Courts said Deutsche Bank's DIFC branch had been found to be "in material non-compliance" with requirements to produce information and documents sought by the Dubai Financial Services Authority, the local regulator, which launched the court action last October in an effort to obtain the information and documents as part of an investigation that has been reported to date back to 2012.
The information being sought was elsewhere reported to include data on clients of Deutsche Bank's private wealth management operations in Switzerland, which has strict laws regarding client confidentiality.
In a statement on its website, the DFSA said Deutsche Bank AG had "consented to the order to produce the "specified information and documents" within 28 days of the signing of the order, on 6 February, and to "ensure that any consolidated response is verified by a statement of truth".
Deutsche Bank also agreed to pay the DFSA’s costs in the matter, the DFSA said.
In a statement, DFSA chief executive Ian Johnston noted that the regulator's power to request information and documents from businesses doing business in Dubai was an important tool in its efforts to supervise and enforce those of its laws that apply to financial services.
The DIFC is a "financial free zone" in Dubai that opened 10 years ago, in order to encourage the development of a regional financial services industry. It enjoys its own legal identity within the Emirate of Dubai, with its own civil and commercial laws, its own courts and its own legal system.
