$54m fine warning as ADGM Registration Authority revamps administrative powers

The ADGM Registration Authority has revamped the financial centre’s commercial licensing framework to align with global best practices and enhance market integrity.

The new regulations (PDF, 41 pages/351kb), which are now in effect, provide the Registration Authority with more robust investigative powers, improved information gathering powers and a wider scope of administrative enforcement tools.

Companies operating in the ADGM should note that the new laws implement an increase in enforcement powers for the authority, with two tiers of fines established. Less severe breaches facing fines of up to $2,000, while more serious violations can have fines of up to $54 million imposed.

They also allow for a statutory emergency process, enabling the Registration Authority to take immediate action in exceptional or urgent cases which may impact the ADGM, and

provisions to permit the authority to enter into settlement agreements to resolve enforcement matters efficiently.

Marie Chowdhry, a financial regulation expert at Pinsent Masons, said: “These regulatory changes are symptomatic of a wider regulatory shift in the UAE, where authorities are clamping down on unsupervised firms and proactively supervising firms ensuring compliance to safeguard financial stability and investor confidence”.

“We are already seeing this in practice – over the course of 2025, the FSRA within the ADGM has already issued some high-profile enforcement notices, including multi-million-dollar fines and licence cancellations for serious breaches such as unauthorised virtual asset activities and governance failures. These administrative changes work to empower the regulator further.”

The new Administrative Regulations also repealed and replaced the Commercial Licensing Regulations.