CHAPTER 2 – Obligations of Authorised Persons and Ancillary Service Providers
102. Obligation of disclosure to the AFSA
(1) Subject to (2), an Authorised Person or Ancillary Service Provider must disclose to the AFSA anything which reasonably tends to show:
- (a) a breach, or likely breach of a provision of legislation administered by the AFSA; or
- (b) a failure, or likely failure, to comply with any obligation to which an Authorised Person or Ancillary Service Provider is subject under such legislation; or
- (c) any other matter as the AFSA may prescribe in Rules; which may be attributable to the conduct of the Authorised Person or Ancillary Service Provider, or its Directors, officers, Employees or representatives.
(2) Section 102(1) does not apply to the extent that compliance with such requirement would disclose a Privileged Communication.
(3) An Authorised Person or Ancillary Service Provider must establish and implement appropriate systems and internal procedures to enable its compliance with section 102(1).
(4) Any provision in an agreement between an Authorised Person, Ancillary Service Provider and a Director, officer, Employee, representative or auditor thereof is void in so far as it purports to hinder compliance with an obligation under section 102(1).
(5) No Person may be subjected to detriment or loss or damage merely by reason of undertaking any act to cause or assist an Authorised Person or Ancillary Service Providerto comply with an obligation under subsection (1).
(6) The AIFC Court may, on application of an aggrieved Person, make any order for relief where a Person has been subjected to any such detriment or loss or damage as referred to in section 102(5).
103. Obligation to comply with an order or requirement of the AFSA
If the AFSA makes an order, gives a direction or prohibition, or makes any requirement in relation to an Authorised Person or Ancillary Service Provider pursuant to a provision of these Regulations or Rules made thereunder or other legislation administered by the AFSA, such Authorised Person or Ancillary Service Provider must, unless he has a reasonable excuse, comply with such order, direction, prohibition or requirement.
104. Provision of information to the AFSA
(1) An Authorised Person or Ancillary Service Provider must not:
- (a) provide information which is false, misleading or deceptive to the AFSA; or
- (b) conceal information where the concealment of such information is likely to mislead or deceive the AFSA.
(2) An Ancillary Service Provider must provide to the AFSA, on an annual basis, an activity report using the appropriate form specified by the AFSA.
105. Obstruction of the AFSA
An Authorised Person or Ancillary Service Provider must not engage in conduct that is intended to obstruct the AFSA in the exercise of any powers under this Part or Part 9 (Enforcement), including the:
- (a) destruction of documents;
- (b) failure to give or produce information or documents specified by the AFSA;
- (c) failure to attend before the AFSA at a specified time and place to answer questions;
- (d) giving of information that is false or misleading; and
- (e) failure to give any assistance in relation to an investigation which the Person is able to give.
106. No liability for provision of information or documents to the AFSA
An Authorised Person, or Ancillary Service Provider, an Approved Individual, a Designated Individual or any other Employee or Director of an Authorised Person or Ancillary Service Provider is neither liable to a proceeding, nor subject to a liability, nor in breach of any duty, merely by reason of:
- (a) complying, or proposing to comply, with a requirement made, or purporting to have been made, under any provision of this Part for inspection of, copying of, giving of or production of, information or documents;
- (b) the giving of information or production of a document by the Person to the AFSA in good faith and in reasonable belief that the information or document is relevant to any functions of the AFSA whether such information or document is given or produced pursuant to a requirement at law or otherwise.
107. Self-incrimination
Subject to section 108(1), it is not a reasonable excuse for a Person to refuse or fail to:
- (a) permit inspection and copying of any information or document; or
- (b) give or produce, or procure the giving or production of, any information or document; or
- (c) answer questions; pursuant to any requirement under either this Part 8 (Supervision) or 9 (Enforcement) on the grounds that any such information document or answer, as the case may be:
- (d) might tend to incriminate the Person or make the Person liable to a penalty; or
- (e) is, or contains, or might reveal a Privileged Communication; or
- (f) is, or contains, or might reveal a communication made in confidence.
108. Privilege
(1) Where the AFSA requires a lawyer to give information or to produce a document or to answer a question, and the giving of the information or the production of the document or the answer to the question would involve disclosing a Privileged Communication made by, on behalf of, or to, the lawyer in his capacity as a lawyer, the lawyer is entitled to refuse to comply with the requirement unless:
- (a) where the Person to whom, or by, or on behalf of whom, the communication was made is a body corporate that is under official management or is being wound up, the official manager or liquidator of the body as the case may be consents to the lawyer complying with the requirement; or
- (b) otherwise, the Person to whom, or by, or on behalf of whom, the communication was made consents to the lawyer complying with the requirement.
(2) Where a lawyer so refuses to comply with a requirement, he must, as soon as practicable, give to the AFSA a written notice setting out:
- (a) where the lawyer knows the name and address of the Person to whom, or by whom, or on behalf of whom, the communication was made, then that name and address; and
- (b) where the requirement to give information or produce a document relates to a communication which was made in writing, then sufficient particulars to identify the document containing the communication.
(3) “Privileged Communication” means a communication attracting a privilege arising from the provision of professional legal advice and any other privilege applicable at law, but does not include a general duty of confidentiality.