First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) on Wednesday announced that it will close its Qatar operations following baseless allegations by Qatari regulatory authorities of manipulating the riyal.
In a statement, the UAE’s largest lender said it has notified the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) that it will relinquish its Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) branch licence and permanently close its QFC branch.
“FAB’s decision to close its QFC branch follows many months of baseless actions by the QFCRA that have made it impossible for FAB’s operations to continue in Qatar,” the statement said.
The QFCRA alleges FAB conducted transactions intended to manipulate the Qatari riyal. These allegations are entirely false and FAB unequivocally denies them. FAB conducts its business in accordance with the highest professional standards and in full compliance with the laws and regulations of all the jurisdictions in which it operates.”
Last week, QFCRA said it was prohibiting FAB from undertaking any new business for customers of its Doha branch. It has barred the Abu Dhabi-based bank from providing services for new customers since March but had allowed the bank to continue working with existing customers.
“FAB made efforts in good faith to engage with the QFCRA to resolve the matter, with FAB’s QFC branch – providing all relevant and responsive information that it was required to disclose pursuant to QFC law.
“Despite FAB’s attempts to resolve matters with the QFCRA, it is clear that no solution is attainable. Consequently, FAB has been left with no option but to make a business decision to close its QFC branch,” the FAB statement said.
Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt started a trade and diplomatic boycott of Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism – a charge Doha denies.
Qatar keeps its currency pegged at a fixed rate to the US dollar, but noticed decline in currency value than its usual rate in offshore markets just after the dispute began.