The UAE became the first country to regulate finfluencers around a year ago, and its Capital Markets Authority (CMA) registry now lists 171 registered financial influencers. But a FinanceMagnates.com review of the list raises serious questions about enforcement quality and compliance — with social media links found to be inconsistent, non-functional, or misattributed across registrants. The CMA told FinanceMagnates.com that "all available links of the financial influencers will be reviewed accordingly," without addressing specific anomalies flagged by the publication.Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don't!)Despite anomalies, the initiative has been a great success. The structured regime has attracted many, including regulator finfluencers and even contracts for differences (CFD) broker executives, and the list is continuously growing.The list of regulated finfluencers on the regulatory website includes their names, dates of registration, registered email addresses, and social media accounts.According to the regulator, it “publishes only the social media channels through which the financial influencer has elected to provide financial recommendations.” However, it appears very difficult for a layperson to verify regulated finfluencers from the registry list due to the current anomalies.Running a Broker to Become a FinfluencerThe CMA is regulating credible finfluencers, at least on paper.At a high level, the eligibility criteria include being an accredited financial analyst by a competent authority or holding a CFA qualification, alongside fit-and-proper expectations and required disclosures. The regime also includes a minimum threshold of 1,000 followers, financial and technical expertise for over six months, among other requirements, to fall within the influencer perimeter.“If the condition of holding a Certified Financial Analyst qualification is not met, the natural person may still submit a registration application to the Authority based on any of the other available criteria, such as possessing relevant experience or having a record of issuing repeated recommendations,” a CMA representative said.“We would also like to emphasise that the assessment of whether the conditions are met rests solely with the Authority.”Although the conditions specify that the regulated finfluencer “be independent (i.e., not employed by any entity licensed by the Authority or by an equivalent regulatory authority)”, at least two CFD broker executives have become regulated finfluencers — one is Ashu Khurana, CEO of Kira Financial, and the other is Rabi Abdalla, Regional Head MENA and General Manager of Axi. The name of Abedelqader Shaath, a Director at MultiBank’s MEX platform, also appeared on the list.However, it is not illegal for brokerage executives to become finfluencers. “Providing a financial recommendation must be done in his personal capacity or through the use of his own platforms and personal accounts,” the regulatory spokesperson added.Abdalla already runs an Instagram blog where he shares personal Arabic market analysis, particularly focusing on gold. He obtained the influencer license as it is now required in the UAE.For Khurana, however, the aim is different. “My ambition is not to build a following,” he told FinanceMagnates.com, “it is to contribute to a framework of responsible financial dialogue — one that encourages investors to shift away from prediction-driven behaviour and toward process-driven thinking.”Most of the other financial market analysts, trading educators, and broker affiliates appear to be the target of the licensing regime.Proper Disclosure Is a Must, but…The CMA’s rules clearly state that a regulated finfluencer is “required to clearly and prominently disclose” whether the person is a financial analyst or a natural person, and that their registration number must be displayed on “every financial recommendation and on all platforms.”However, FinanceMagnates.com found that many regulated finfluencers might not be complying with disclosure requirements — neither their approved social media handles nor their posts indicate any licences.“I have not been instructed by CMA to display my license number on my social channels,” a UAE-regulated finfluencer who promotes binary options and crypto trading told FinanceMagnates.com. “If this becomes an official requirement, I will comply immediately. I also guide other influencers on how to correctly apply for the CMA license, ensuring that all practices are fully compliant.”Another regulatory requirement is that regulated finfluencers must disclose “the last financial recommendation made by the finfluencer within the previous twelve months related to the same financial product, virtual asset, financial service, or issuer”, but this is clearly missing from the content of most finfluencers.There is also a question about the feasibility of this requirement: how can one include detailed references to previous recommendations in a photo or a short video?Who Is the Content For?The UAE has a population of about 11.5 million, of whom roughly 90 per cent are expatriates. This mix indicates a strong appetite for non-Arabic financial content in the country.Although English is widely spoken there, the country’s regulator has also licensed multiple finfluencers who primarily create content in other languages, including Italian and Hindi/Urdu. Many do not have any of the required disclosures on their profiles or content.The finfluencer who actively promotes binary options also stands out for his content language — he creates content in Hindi/Urdu and appears to be targeting South Asians in the UAE and abroad. It is not only the language of the content, but the content itself, that raises concern.He also promotes only binary options and crypto trading. In a video (in Hindi/Urdu, of course), he also explained that he does not like trading or promoting margin forex, although he features an Exness affiliate link. He appears to be promoting Quotex, an unregulated binary options trading platform registered in St Kitts and Nevis with no licences.“A registered finfluencer cannot legitimise the promotion of a product or platform that is not approved to be promoted in the UAE,” said Nikolas Xenofontos, Managing Director at SALVUS Funds, without referring to any particular finfluencer. “Their content should remain within permitted, approved financial instruments or services and must comply with disclosure requirements and standards.”Although a majority of the finfluencers are affiliates of locally regulated CFD brokers, some are promoting links to offshore brokers with no local presence.“If you are seeing regulated finfluencers promoting binary options,” Xenofontos added, “the angle is either that the underlying product is not authorised and the promotion is therefore problematic, or the content is being framed as something other than a regulated recommendation. Either way, it is a compliance red flag.”The finfluencer, however, argues that content is entirely focused on education and awareness, not promotion. “I do not receive any payment from Quotex or any other platform. I do not run sponsored posts, nor do I encourage anyone to deposit or trade. I explain how trading works, how platforms function,” he said. However, he does indeed feature affiliate links for Quotex.His other argument is that any platform accessible from the UAE without a VPN is not illegal.“I have contacted the CMA legal department directly to obtain written clarification regarding offshore-regulated platforms,” he said, adding that regulatory officials informed his associates that “if a website is blocked or inaccessible, it is illegal; if it is accessible normally, then it is allowed.”Selling the Lifestyle ContinuesThe binary options-focused finfluencer has 467k followers on Instagram, over 325k subscribers on YouTubeHis Instagram account also shows that, despite the regulatory regime, the CMA has not curbed the flashy lifestyle displays of finfluencers. With G-Wagons, BMWs, and luxury villa backdrops, he is clearly selling the image of trading as an ultra-luxury lifestyle.Dozens of other regulated finfluencers are also showing off their luxury lifestyles — some posing inside private jets, while others have dinners with panoramic views of Dubai.View this post on InstagramA post shared by Thair Jarrar (@thair.jarrar)Interestingly, his Telegram signal channel has a disclosure notice: “All content shared here is for educational and awareness purposes only and is not financial or investment advice, nor a solicitation to trade or open accounts. I am not a financial adviser…”The disclosure, however, is dated 23 August 2025, whereas, according to the CMA registry, he became a regulated finfluencer on 30 December 2025.UAE-regulated finfluencers are allowed to make “investment recommendations to buy, sell, or hold a financial product or virtual asset, or recommendations related to a financial service or any issuer within the state.”The CMA’s influencer regulatory regime has made one thing clear: finfluencers based inside the country must be regulated, regardless of their target audience.No regulatory framework arrives fully formed. The UAE's finfluencer regime is the first of its kind anywhere in the world, and the challenges it is encountering — disclosure gaps, registry accuracy, cross-language monitoring, and edge cases involving unregulated products — are the kinds of challenges that regulators refine over time, through enforcement action, updated guidance, and market feedback. But the question then arises: Does the agency have the resources to scan through the thousands of pieces of content posted by these finfluencers? This is particularly relevant when the content is in non-Arabic and non-English languages.“Keyword here is complaints,” Xenofontos said regarding the ways for the regulator to scrutinise finfluencers’ content. “Ongoing scrutiny is typically a mix of monitoring, periodic reviews, and enforcement triggered by complaints or market intelligence. If a registered finfluencer is operating from the UAE mainland, publishing recommendations can remain regulated even if followers are predominantly non-UAE, because the regulated act is the provision of recommendations via media channels, not merely the nationality of the follower.” This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

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