Robert D. Strahota

For the Dubai International Financial Centre should open this autumn with its own brand new regulator, the Dubai Financial Services Authority, and the DSFA was hosting the event. So what did the man from the SEC make of Dubai?

'The multinational nature of the staff of the DSFA is something I have noticed in Hong Kong, Singapore and some of the island jurisdictions,' says Robert D. Strahota, Assistant Director, Office of International Affairs at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

'But we are not meeting in Dubai because of the DSFA. We are here because it is a good venue to bring people together in this region. But it does help that the DSFA has the resources here and can help us with training.'

The 'Enforcement and Market Oversight Programme' at which Mr. Strahota was speaking was funded by the US Middle East Partnership Initiative, and has been rotating around Egypt, Bahrain and Jordan over the past five years. At the Dubai event around 45 attendees heard a variety of international presentations on practical enforcement issues.

'I don't think this part of the world is any different to any other,' says Mr. Strahota.

'Wherever you get people with a high disposable income, you will find other people trying to take it off them. Even in the US - where we have a highly regulated market - there are still all sorts of scandals.'

But aren't offshore jurisdictions like Dubai particularly vulnerable to the suitcase cowboy salesmen, who come into town and disappear over night?

'It is true that in the US if something is a complete sham, for example with no product or venture, and ignoring SEC rules entirely, then questions will be asked. It can be more difficult in offshore jurisdictions.

'But my advice in a market like this is that you can still do a lot with investor education. Perhaps there could be TV programmes warning people about the basic things to ask before you commit to an investment.

'Investors also need to look out for Internet fraud which might fall outside of international jurisdictions. This is not just a problem with developing markets.'

No doubt as Dubai beefs up its regulatory structure for the upcoming Dubai International Financial Centre visits from SEC officials will become more normal, and that itself should be a cause of some comfort to local investors.