This Procedure is equivalent to what is commonly termed as whistleblowing. This Procedure shall be deemed Vista Lease’s whistleblowing procedure for Reporting Concerns Relating to Financial Matters. Vista Lease is committed to conducting its business in an ethical, legal and socially responsible manner and to promote professional conduct in the practice of its Financial Matters (defined below).
Vista Lease is also fully committed to developing a Speak up culture - Officers and Associated Persons should not be afraid to Speak Up if they think that something is wrong or needs to be fixed. Officers and Associated Persons should at all times feel comfortable sharing their views, asking questions, flagging anomalies, expressing concerns, or reporting what they perceive as a violation of any Vista Lease Code or Policy.
In this Speak Up Procedure for Reporting Concerns Relating to Financial Matters (“Procedure”), “Vista Lease” refers to refers to Vista Lease Holding Ltd, a company incorporated in Dubai International Financial Centre, UAE, and with registration number 3009.
Procedure Applicability: This Procedure applies to:
Vista Lease has two Speak Up procedures for reporting concerns: one procedure for reporting concerns relating to non-financial matters applicable to Officers, and this procedure for reporting concerns relating to Financial Matters applicable to both Officers and Associated Persons. Any concern that does not relate to a Financial Matter (the term ‘Financial Matter’ is defined below) shall be reported by Officers in accordance with the Vista Lease Speak Up Procedure for Reporting Concerns Relating to Non-Financial Matters.
Vista Lease has established this Procedure to facilitate reporting of possible illegal or unethical behaviour relating to accounting, internal controls and auditing matters, in compliance with applicable law.
This Procedure does not replace in any way, and is in addition to, any other reporting and complaint procedures (not relating to Financial Matters) that are available to Officers under other Vista Lease codes, policies and procedures. In the event of any conflict between this Procedure and applicable mandatory law, the applicable mandatory law shall prevail.
“Financial Matter” under this Procedure includes:
If any Officer or Associated Person is concerned about any Financial Matter, then he/she has a duty to promptly report such concerns in accordance with this Procedure (hereinafter referred to as “Report(s)”).
Officers and Associated Persons may file Reports reporting concerns regarding Financial Matters to:
Attn: The Director - Tobias Schramm
Address: Unit 106, Level 1, Gate Village Building 11, Dubai International Financial Centre, P O Box 9275 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
E-mail: compliance-report@vistaglobal.com
All correspondence should be marked “Strictly Confidential”
A Report should be filed by duly filling in the Form attached to this Procedure as Appendix A (or, in the case of any new reporting channels introduced by Vista Lease from time to time, by completing the applicable form). The Report shall be in the English language and shall contain as much information as possible, including any supporting documentation.
Receipt of the Report, unless submitted anonymously, will be acknowledged within five (5) working days or sooner, unless acknowledgement within such timeframe is not reasonably possible.
The following procedure is put in place to assess the reported concerns regarding Financial Matters and to ensure that the Report is investigated, to the extent necessary, in a prompt, adequate and thorough manner.
The Director Tobias Schramm (‘Director’) may notify any other person he reasonably deems appropriate, within five (5) business days from receipt, of all Reports he receives.
The Director shall, within ten (10) business days from the receipt of the Report, determine whether there is justification for an investigation and how an investigation should be handled, should one be necessary.
Responsibility for an investigation may be delegated by the Director to any member of management and/or to independent counsel and other advisors who will report directly to the Director.
Vista Lease management members, independent counsel and other advisors may be consulted and/or involved in investigations, as appropriate.
Notwithstanding the above investigation procedure, with respect to Reports relating to anti-money laundering or terrorist funding, including without limitation Reports concerning suspected or known breaches of the Vista Lease Anti-Money Laundering Policy, these Reports shall, in the event that a Vista Lease Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) is in office, be investigated by the MLRO. In the absence of an MLRO, such Reports shall be investigated by the Director. The MLRO (or the Director, if an MLRO is not in office) may conduct any investigation without the involvement of any other person.
Investigations will be conducted and concluded within reasonable time, dependent upon the nature of the alleged violation and the circumstances of each case.
Prompt and appropriate corrective action will be taken in response to any finding of improper conduct involving Financial Matters. It is the responsibility of Vista Lease’s management to implement any disciplinary measures. The Director shall at all times be kept informed with any corrective action taken.
Periodically the Director shall report to to the Board of Directors all complaints on Financial Matters received and what steps were taken to address them.
If a Report involves the Director, he shall then not be involved in the afore-stated investigation process and the Chairman of Vista Lease Board of Directors shall appoint another person in his stead to follow the investigation process.
All Officers and Associated Persons are obliged to fully co-operate with and assist in any Report investigation.
All Reports will be handled in a confidential manner. Confidentiality will be maintained to the fullest extent possible, consistent with the need to conduct an adequate investigation of the Report and to perform subsequent remedial measures.
Unless the Report was submitted anonymously, the Officer or the Associated Person who filed the Report under this procedure may receive general information from the Director on the progress and the outcome of the investigation, unless giving such feedback would be detrimental to the investigation. The Director shall have sole and absolute discretion on the information that will be disclosed to any Officer or Associated Person filing a Report.
The Director shall keep a log of all filed Reports, actions performed, the status of the investigations, and any corrective actions.
Anonymous Reports will also be received however anonymity may hinder or complicate any investigation and may prevent appropriate action from being taken. Officers and Associated Persons who wish to remain anonymous may file an unsigned Report and send it to the above mailing details.
Vista Lease may from time to time introduce new channels that may be used to file anonymous Reports – such as whistle blower/speak up hotlines and websites.
This Procedure is created with a view to create an atmosphere in which Officers and Associated Persons feel free to promptly file complaints concerning Financial Matters without fear of retaliation or any adverse action being taken against them when filing a Report under this procedure or assisting other Officers or Associated Persons in doing so.
Vista Lease will not discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass or in any manner discriminate against any Officer or Associated Person because of any complaint filed in good faith by him/her under this Procedure.
Vista Lease does not tolerate any form of threat, retaliation or other action against any Officer or Associated Person who has in good faith made or assisted in the making of a Report. Any such threat, retaliation or other action should immediately be reported to the Director. Vista Lease treats any such threat, retaliation or action as a disciplinary matter which might lead to dismissal.
An Officer and Associated Person making a report will be afforded all protections provided under this Procedure.
Intentional false Reports or other failure to act in good faith will lead to disciplinary proceedings against the Officer or Associated Person filing the false report, which disciplinary proceedings may include dismissal from employment in the case of Officers, and termination of business relationship in the case of Associated Persons.
False reporting could also lead to civil or criminal prosecution. Vista Lease does not indemnify or reimburse any Officer who has made a false Report for costs or other consequences related to such false reporting
Any Officer or Associated Person implicated in a Report shall be presumed innocent until allegations are proved.
Officers and Associated Persons shall periodically, whenever requested by Vista Lease, individually confirm in writing, or by any electronic means introduced by Vista Lease from time to time, to Vista Lease that he/she/it has read this Procedure.
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Tobias Schramm | Director |
| Date | Version | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Mar 2019 | 1 | Effective Date |