Repeat Lapses Cost Half Moon $37,500 As Adgm Cracks Down On Late Filings
The Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Registration Authority has fined Half Moon Investments Limited and its directors $37,500. The penalty follows repeated failures to submit company accounts within the required timeframe.
Regulators said the breaches were not one-off mistakes; in fact, they were ongoing. Each missed deadline undermines transparency, which is why ADGM has chosen to act firmly.
Details of Penalties
Half Moon Investments Limited was ordered to pay $7,500 for failing to submit its financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2023, within the required deadline. The penalty was imposed directly on the company after the accounts were delayed past the statutory timeframe.
The Registration Authority did not stop there. It also held the individuals in charge responsible. Directors Shaukat Murad, Zia Murad, and Manuel Mateos were each fined $10,000 for their role in the repeated failures.
The regulator said directors must ensure that a company meets its reporting obligations and that this duty cannot be ignored.
This was not the company’s first lapse. It had already been warned, and previous penalties were on record. Despite that, the same mistakes happened again. Regulators stressed that repeated non-compliance leaves little room for flexibility.
They said the fines reflect the missed deadlines and failure to take earlier warnings seriously.
Background Context
Half Moon has been on the regulator’s radar for some time.
In March 2023, the company was fined for failing to file its accounts for the December 31, 2021, financial year. That penalty came with a warning that future delays would not be treated lightly.
Even with that warning in place, the company slipped again.
For ADGM, timely reporting is not simply a matter of forms and dates. It is how the financial centre signals reliability to investors, businesses, and international partners.
When a firm delays its accounts, it creates gaps in the information others rely on to make decisions, which undermines trust in the market.
The Registration Authority has clarified that this cycle of late filings will not be allowed to continue. Repeated breaches are treated more seriously than first-time mistakes, and the action against Half Moon shows how the regulator intends to handle such cases in the future.
ADGM’s Stance and Future Actions
The Registration Authority says its job is not only about filings inside Abu Dhabi but also about meeting global standards, including those set by the OECD Global Forum. That means every company registered in ADGM is expected to follow internationally recognized rules.
Corporate reports are at the centre of this. They show whether a business is sound or if hidden risks exist. When those reports arrive late, the market loses clarity.
Once clarity is lost, trust is harder to rebuild.
ADGM has signalled it will keep a close watch. More penalties are possible. The regulator has been clear that firms that do not comply will be dealt with, and that the wider system depends on everyone playing by the same rules.
Conclusion
ADGM has made its position clear. Enforcement will continue, and penalties will follow where firms or directors fail.
For licensed entities, the message is simple: meet your filing deadlines.
Directors’ responsibility is personal and corporate. Late accounts will not be brushed aside; repeated lapses now carry a clear cost.
References
- ‘Abu Dhabi Slaps $37,500 Fine on Half Moon Investments, 3 Directors’. Khaleej Times, https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/abu-dhabi-slaps-37500-fine-on-half-moon-investments-3-directors.
- Abu Dhabi’s International Financial Centre | ADGM. 4 Apr. 2024, https://www.adgm.com.
- Late Filings to the Registrar. 16 Aug. 2024, https://www.adgm.com/operating-in-adgm/monitoring-and-enforcement/late-filings-to-the-registrar.
- OECD Global Forum. https://www.oecd.org/en/networks/global-forum-tax-transparency.html.
- Registration Authority. 22 May 2024, https://www.adgm.com/registration-authority.
- Varghese, Justin. ‘Repeat Lapses Cost Half Moon $37,500 as ADGM Cracks down on Late Filings’. Gulf News: Latest UAE News, Dubai News, Business, Travel News, Dubai Gold Rate, Prayer Time, Cinema, 26 Aug. 2025, https://gulfnews.com/business/banking/half-moon-investments-directors-fined-37500-for-repeatedly-missing-filing-deadlines-1.500245724.
