Islamic Financial Services Board

Islamic Financial Services Board

Membership List: Do they do business with Sudan? Sudan seems to think so.

ABC Islamic Bank (E.C.)
Bahrain
Observer Member
2.
Absa Bank
South Africa
Observer Member
3.
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank
United Arab Emirates
Observer Member
4.
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
United Arab Emirates
Observer Member
5.
Affin Islamic Bank Berhad
Malaysia
Observer Member
6.
Ahli Bank QSC
Qatar
Observer Member
7.
Ahli United Bank
Bahrain
Observer Member
8.
Al Baraka Bank Lebanon
Lebanon
Observer Member
9.
Al Hilal Bank
United Arab Emirates
Observer Member
10.
Al Rajhi Banking and Investment Corporation (Malaysia) Bhd.
Malaysia
Observer Member
11.
Al Rowad Financial Services Co.
Sudan
Observer Member
12.
Al Safa Islamic Banking, Commercial Bank of Qatar
Qatar
Observer Member
13.
Al Salam Bank
Bahrain
Observer Member
14.
Al Salam Bank
Sudan
Observer Member
15.
Al-Jazira Bank
Saudi Arabia
Observer Member
16.
Al-Muthanna Investment Company
Kuwait
Observer Member
17.
Al-Rajhi Banking and Investment Corporation
Saudi Arabia
Observer Member
18.
Albaraka Banking Group
Bahrain
Observer Member
19.
Albaraka Turkish Finance House
Turkey
Observer Member
20.
Algazeera Sudanese Jordanian Bank
Sudan
Observer Member
21.
Allied Cooperative Insurance Group
Saudi Arabia
Observer Member
22.
AmIslamic Bank Berhad
Malaysia
Observer Member
23.
Amlak Finance
United Arab Emirates
Observer Member
24.
Animal Resources Bank
Sudan
Observer Member
25.
Arab Islamic Bank
Palestine
Observer Member
26.
Arbah Capital
Saudi Arabia
Observer Member
27.
Arcapita Bank
Bahrain
Observer Member
28.
AREF Investment Group
Kuwait
Observer Member
29.
Asian Development Bank
International Inter Governmental Organizations
Associate Member
30.
Asian Finance Bank Berhad
Malaysia
Observer Member
31.
A�ayan Leasing and Investment Co.
Kuwait
Observer Member
32.
Badr Al Islami
United Arab Emirates
Observer Member
33.
Bahrain Islamic Bank
Bahrain
Observer Member
34.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
Philippines
Associate Member
35.
Bangladesh Bank
Bangladesh
Full Member
36.
Bank Al-Maghrib
Morocco
Observer Member
37.
Bank Asya
Turkey
Observer Member
38.
Bank for International Settlements
International Inter Governmental Organizations
Associate Member
39.
Bank Indonesia
Indonesia
Full Member
40.
Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam Berhad
Brunei
Observer Member
41.
Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad
Malaysia
Observer Member
42.
Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia Berhad
Malaysia
Observer Member
43.
Bank Keshavarzi
Islamic Republic of Iran
Observer Member
44.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad
Malaysia
Observer Member
45.
Bank Negara Malaysia
Malaysia
Full Member
46.
Bank of Japan
Japan
Observer Member
47.
Bank of Mauritius
Mauritius
Associate Member
48.
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (Malaysia) Berhad
Malaysia
Observer Member
49.
Bank Saderat Iran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Observer Member
50.
Banque Centrale De Djibouti
Djibouti
Full Member
51.
Banque du Liban
Lebanon
Associate Member
52.
BNP Paribas Islamic Banking Unit
Bahrain
Observer Member
53.
Boubyan Bank
Kuwait
Observer Member
54.
Bursa Malaysia Berhad
Malaysia
Associate Member
55.
Byblos Bank Africa Ltd
Sudan
Observer Member
56.
Cagamas
Malaysia
Observer Member
57.
Capital Market Authority of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
Full Member
58.
Capital Market Development Authority
Maldives
Associate Member
59.
Central Bank of Bahrain
Bahrain
Full Member
60.
Central Bank of Egypt
Egypt
Full Member
61.
Central Bank of Jordan
Jordan
Full Member
62.
Central Bank of Kuwait
Kuwait
Full Member
63.
Central Bank of Sudan
Sudan
Full Member
64.
Central Bank of Syria
Syria
Full Member
65.
Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Full Member
66.
Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
Full Member
67.
Commerce International Merchant Bankers Berhad (CIMB)
Malaysia
Observer Member
68.
Commercial Bank International
United Arab Emirates
Observer Member
69.
Commercial Bank of Dubai
United Arab Emirates
Observer Member
70.
Deutsche Bank AG
United Arab Emirates
Observer Member
71.
Doha Bank
Qatar
Observer Member
72.
Dow Jones Indexes
United States of America
Observer Member
73.
Dubai Bank
United Arab Emirates
Observer Member
74.
Dubai Financial Services Authority
United Arab Emirates
Associate Member
75.
Dubai International Financial Centre Authority
United Arab Emirates
Associate Member
76.
Dubai International Financial Exchange
United Arab Emirates
Observer Member
77.
Dubai Islamic Bank
United Arab Emirates
Observer Member
78.
Dubai Islamic Bank Pakistan Limited
Pakistan
Observer Member
79.
Dubai Islamic Insurance and Reinsurance Co.
United Arab Emirates
Observer Member
80.
Egyptian Saudi Finance Bank
Egypt
Observer Member
81.
Emirates Islamic Bank
United Arab Emirates
Observer Member
82.
Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority
United Arab Emirates
Associate Member
83.
EONCAP Islamic Bank Berhad
Malaysia
Observer Member
84.
European Islamic Investment Bank PLC
United Kingdom
Observer Member
85.
Faisal Islamic Bank
Egypt
Observer Member
86.
Farmer�s Commercial Bank
Sudan
Observer Member
87.
Financial Services Commission & Financial Supervisory Service
Korea
Observer Member
88.
First Habib Modaraba
Pakistan
Observer Member
89.
First Investment Company
Kuwait
Observer Member
90.
Fitch Ratings Singapore Pte Ltd
Singapore
Observer Member
91.
FWU Group
Germany
Observer Member
92.
Gatehouse Bank plc
United Kingdom
Observer Member
93.
Guidance Financial Group LLC
United States of America
Observer Member
94.
Gulf Investment House
Kuwait
Observer Member
95.
Hannover ReTakaful B.S.C
Bahrain
Observer Member
96.
Hong Kong Monetary Authority
Hong Kong
Associate Member
97.
Hong Leong Islamic Bank
Malaysia
Observer Member
98.
HSBC Amanah Finance
United Arab Emirates
Observer Member
99.
Industrial Development Bank
Sudan
Observer Member
100.
Insurance Commission of Jordan
Jordan
Observer Member
101.
International Leasing and Investment Company
Kuwait
Observer Member
102.
International Monetary Fund
International Inter Governmental Organizations
Associate Member
103.
Investment Dar
Kuwait
Observer Member
104.
Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited
Bangladesh
Observer Member
105.
Islamic Corporation for the Development of Private Sector Sector
International Inter Governmental Organizations
Associate Member
106.
Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit
Saudi Arabia
Observer Member
107.
Islamic Development Bank
International Inter Governmental Organizations
Full Member
108.
Islamic International Rating Agency
Bahrain
Observer Member
109.
Japan Bank for International Cooperation
Japan
Observer Member
110.
Japan Securities and Dealers Association
Japan
Observer Member
111.
Jordan Islamic Bank for Finance and Investment
Jordan
Observer Member
112.
Khaleeji Commercial Bank B.S.C.
Bahrain
Observer Member
113.
Kuwait Finance House
Kuwait
Observer Member
114.
Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Berhad
Malaysia
Observer Member
115.
Kuwait Finance House-Bahrain
Bahrain
Observer Member
116.
Kuwait International Bank, Kuwait
Kuwait
Observer Member
117.
Kuwait Turkish Participation Bank
Turkey
Observer Member
118.
Labuan Offshore Financial Services Authority
Malaysia
Associate Member
119.
Lembaga Tabung Haji
Malaysia
Observer Member
120.
Malaysia Deposit Insurance Corporation
Malaysia
Associate Member
121.
Malaysian Rating Corporation Berhad
Malaysia
Observer Member
122.
Maldives Monetary Authority
Maldives
Full Member
123.
Masraf Al Rayan
Qatar
Observer Member
124.
Maybank Investment Bank Berhad
Malaysia
Observer Member
125.
Ministry of Economy and Finances
Senegal
Observer Member
126.
Ministry of Finance, Brunei
Brunei
Full Member
127.
Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co., Ltd.
Japan
Observer Member
128.
Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd.
Japan
Observer Member
129.
Monetary Authority of Singapore
Singapore
Full Member
130.
National Bank of Dubai
United Arab Emirates
Observer Member
131.
National Bank of Umm Al Qawain
United Arab Emirates
Observer Member
132.
National Commercial Bank
Saudi Arabia
Observer Member
133.
Nomura Asset Management Malaysia Sdn Bhd
Malaysia
Observer Member
134.
Nomura Securities Co. Ltd.
Japan
Observer Member
135.
Oasis Crescent Capital (PTY) Ltd.
South Africa
Observer Member
136.
Omdurman National Bank
Sudan
Observer Member
137.
Palestine Monetary Authority
Palestine
Associate Member
138.
Perbadanan Tabung Amanah Islam Brunei
Brunei
Observer Member
139.
Qatar Central Bank
Qatar
Full Member
140.
Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority
Qatar
Associate Member
141.
Qatar International Islamic Bank
Qatar
Observer Member
142.
Qatar Islamic Bank
Qatar
Observer Member
143.
Qatar National Bank
Qatar
Observer Member
144.
Rasameel Structures Finance Company
Kuwait
Observer Member
145.
RHB Islamic Bank Berhad
Malaysia
Observer Member
146.
RUSD Investment Bank, Labuan
Malaysia
Observer Member
147.
SALAMA - Islamic Arab Insurance Co.
United Arab Emirates
Observer Member
148.
Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency
Saudi Arabia
Full Member
149.
Saudi British Bank
Saudi Arabia
Observer Member
150.
Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan
Pakistan
Associate Member
151.
Securities and Futures Commission
Hong Kong
Observer Member
152.
Securities Commission of Malaysia
Malaysia
Full Member
153.
Seera Investment Bank
Bahrain
Observer Member
154.
Shariyah Review Board
Bahrain
Observer Member
155.
Sharjah Islamic Bank
United Arab Emirates
Observer Member
156.
Shiekan Insurance and Reinsurance Co. Ltd
Sudan
Observer Member
157.
State Bank of Pakistan
Pakistan
Full Member
158.
Sudan Financial Services Company
Sudan
Observer Member
159.
Sudanese Banks Association
Sudan
Observer Member
160.
Sudanese French Bank
Sudan
Observer Member
161.
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Japan
Japan
Observer Member
162.
Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Berhad
Malaysia
Observer Member
163.
Tadamon Islamic Bank
Sudan
Observer Member
164.
Takaful Ikhlas Sdn. Bhd.
Malaysia
Observer Member
165.
The Insurance Supervisory Authority
Sudan
Associate Member
166.
The Islamic Bank of Asia, Singapore
Singapore
Observer Member
167.
The Islamic Insurance Co. Plc
Jordan
Observer Member
168.
The National Pensions Fund
Sudan
Observer Member
169.
The People Bank of China
China
Associate Member
170.
The Securities House
Kuwait
Observer Member
171.
The World Bank
International Inter Governmental Organizations
Associate Member
172.
Tokio Marine Middle East Limited
United Arab Emirates
Observer Member
173.
UBS AG, Dubai
United Arab Emirates
Observer Member
174.
UM Financial Inc.
Canada
Observer Member
175.
Unicorn International Islamic Bank Malaysia Berhad
Malaysia
Observer Member
176.
Unicorn Investment Bank
Bahrain
Observer Member
177.
Venture Capital Bank B.S.C (c)
Bahrain
Observer Member
178.
Wethaq Takaful Insurance Company K.C.S.C.
Kuwait
Observer Member

Sukuk Failing in Malasia

MALAYSIAN property developer IJM Land may scrap plans to sell Islamic bonds and take out a loan instead to refinance borrowings, a source close to the matter said today.

Syariah bond issuance in Southeast Asia’s most developed Islamic finance market has been virtually frozen by worries about a global recession and sliding asset values, shattering earlier beliefs the industry would escape the downturn largely unscathed.

Islamic bond issuance in Malaysia fell to US$5.86 billion last year, compared with US$26.53 billion in 2007, according to Islamic Finance Information Service. IJM Land, the property arm of infrastructure group IJM Corp, wants to raise about RM300 million-RM400 million, said the source who declined to be identified.

“The market is so volatile it’s kind of difficult to do a bond at this kind of time,” said the source. “Taking a straight loan is much easier than doing a bond. The market risk for bonds, especially for developers, at the current time is kind of challenging.” IJM group managing director Krishnan Tan Boon Seng was not available for comment.

IJM Land had earlier wanted to issue Islamic bonds, or sukuk, to tap growing investor demand in Malaysia for syariah-compliant paper. Top Malaysian lender Maybank has estimated that sukuk accounted for more than half of the RM47 billion of corporate bonds that were issued in the country last year.

The Rest @ Business Times

Hawala Facilitates Human Trafficking Ring in Greece and Pakistan

Monday, January 19, 2009
By Salman Aslam
LAHORE:

The Federal Investigation Agency has arrested three human traffickers -- including the two guilty of a failed attempt to smuggle 13 Pakistanis to Greece, who suffocated in a container in a district adjoining Istanbul on July 30 last -- The News learnt Saturday.

Sources said Mehdi Khan, s/o Muhammad Khan, caste Gujjar, a resident of PO Qila Sora Singh Tehsil, Gujrat district, was one of the arrested, who is an accused in the suffocation case. His name appears at serial number 5 on the Red Book list.

The investigators during interrogation came to know that Mehdi Khan was a general councillor, Union Council Barrila Sharif, Gujrat district.

His two younger brothers

• Safdar Ali, 40, and
• M Afzal, 35,

live in Greece. A sister of the accused is married to Sana Ullah, a resident of Gaigian, Gujrat district, who is also a human trafficker.

Out of the seven children, his three elder sons M Riaz, 23, M Abbas, 21, and M Namas, 16, are settled in Greece.

• The sources said Mehdi Khan booked dozens of people for smuggling to Greece for Rs 500,000 to 600,000.
• He used Iran-Turkey land route for the purpose. He is associated with human trafficker Haji Abdullah, s/o Agha Inayat r/o Kake Mitter, Wazirabad, Gujranwala district.
• Haji is operating safe houses in Iran and Turkey.
• The illegal immigrants are handed over to Haji Abdullah at Taftan on Pak-Iran border and trafficked forward through Iran.
• The trafficking starts right from Balochistan to Iran and Turkey and illegal immigrants are further smuggled to Greece through boats.
• Mehdi Khan was involved in FIA case numbers 27 and 34 registered with its office in Gujranwala.

A number of enquiries based on deportees’ statements are pending against him to be converted to cases. The other human trafficker arrested by the FIA has been identified as Mamoon-ur-Rasheed alias Steno s/o Subay Khan, caste Mayo, r/o Begowal, Tehsil Sambrial, Sialkot district.

His arrest had been a challenge, given his precautions. He remained a mystery for the last many years as he never met any intending immigrant, or other agent or even any member of his own network. He was arrested on Jan 14, 2009. A case was registered with Sadar Kamoke Police Station against him, his brother Javed and two others — Basharat and Jameel.

The accused also resorted to firing to avoid arrest. The sources informed The News that Mamoon was involved in human trafficking from Pakistan to Europe through land routes in Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and Greece.

He set up a network of sub-agents in the country as well as abroad. He is a trafficker wanted in the highest number of FIA cases.

The accused had got issued two Computerised National Identity Cards in the names of Mamoon and Zahid Rehman.

His three brothers are living abroad: Javed, 30, in Malaysia and Parvaiz Ahmed, 25, and Rashid Ahmed, 20, in Spain. He is involved in 15 cases registered with AHTC Police Station, Gujranwala, bearing FIR numbers 601, 613, 615, 616, 618, 764, 818, 925 of 2006 and 345, 360, 361, 362, 363, 401, 402 and 403 of 2007. Other 15 cases bearing FIR numbers 36 to 50 have now been registered with AHTC police on the basis of deportees’ statements. Owing to his frequent involvement in the illegal business and number of persons he has smuggled, his name appeared in the Red Book 2007.

How it worked

1. The accused used to deal with intending immigrants directly or through his sub-agents demanding payment ranging from Rs 600,000 to Rs 700,000 preceded by Rs 100,000 advance payment.
2. The illegal immigrants were handed over to other agents across the unfrequented land routes in Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and Greece.
3. When illegal immigrants reached their destination, their families paid the remaining amount to the accused through an agent ‘Chacha Rafique’—the owner of Hawala office at Lalamusa, Gujrat district.
4. The accused handed over intending immigrants to agents based in Karachi, whom he paid Rs15,000 for each.

The Rest @ The News International (Pakistan)

Islamic Banking in Crisis

Investment bankers from London were flying into once-booming Dubai last night as the bailout of the Gulf state’s banking sector began.

The bank and the finance ministry of the United Arab Emirates have established a AED120 billion emergency funding facility .

Global Investment House KSCC, Kuwait’s biggest investment bank, declined to the lowest in more than four years after appointing HSBC Holdings to renegotiate loans owed to foreign lenders.

Citigroup Inc., the global bank that got a $45 billion government bailout, “recently” arranged more than $8 billion of financing for government-owned companies in Dubai.

Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group LLC, a company owned by Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, said it repaid 2.4 billion dirhams ($650million) of maturing bonds and loans from its own cash flows.

Unnao Hawala Cash Captured while moving from Uttar to Sarjah India

Lucknow, Nov 9 (IANS) Two people were arrested from the Amausi airport in Uttar Pradesh capital late Saturday night while they were allegedly trying to smuggle Hawala money worth Rs.16 million, the police said.

The duo, who were at the airport to take a flight to Sharjah, were caught by the officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), according to police sources.

“We only know that the arrested persons belong to Unnao and the local police was not involved in the entire operation as it is a matter related to DRI,” Akhil Kumar, senior superintendt of police Lucknow, told IANS over phone.

The paper was in Saudi Ryals and Indian Rupees

The Rest @ ThaIndian

Hawaladar Convicted of Conspiracy Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

MONEY REMITTER SENTENCED TO OVER NINE YEARS FOR MONEY LAUNDERING CONSPIRACY AND CONCEALING TERRORIST FINANCING

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis sentenced Saifullah Anjum Ranjha, age 45, a Pakistani national residing in Washington, D.C. and Maryland, today to 110 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiring to launder money and for concealing terrorist financing, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. Judge Garbis also signed a preliminary order forfeiting $2,208,000 of Ranjha's assets.

"The hawala system can be used by criminals to launder money without using financial institutions, by giving the money to a person in the United States and picking it up in a foreign country," said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. "Identifying hawala networks that violate the law often requires the cooperation of international authorities."

"As the U.S. financial industry strengthens its anti-money laundering programs, the use of the hawala system to move illicit funds becomes increasingly attractive to terrorist and other criminal organizations," stated Scot R. Rittenberg, Acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "We will continue to work jointly with our domestic and foreign law enforcement partners to investigate the movement of illicit funds via the hawala system."

"Terrorist networks need money to be effective. Fortunately, IRS-CI is effective at following the money to find the source of the crime," said Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge, C. Andre' Martin.

• According to his guilty plea, Ranjha was born in Pakistan and became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in September 1997.
• He operated a money remitter business in the District of Columbia known as Hamza, Inc.

A cooperating witness, acting at the direction of law enforcement, held himself out to Ranjha and his associates to be involved in large scale international drug trafficking, international smuggling of counterfeit cigarettes and weapons.

He also represented that he was providing assistance and financing to members of al Qaeda and its affiliated organizations and their operatives.

From October 2003 to September 19, 2007, the cooperating witness gave Ranjha and his associates a total of $2,208,000 in government funds in order to transfer the monies abroad through an informal money transfer system called a "hawala," using a network of persons and/or businesses to transfer money across domestic and international borders without reliance upon conventional banking systems and regulations.

The cooperating witness represented that the monies were the proceeds of, and related to, his purported illegal activities and Ranjha laundered these funds believing they were to be used to support those activities.

Ranjha was the primary point of contact for the cooperating witness and received the bulk of the monies from the cooperating witness, for a total of 21 hawala transactions in amounts ranging from $13,000 to $300,000.

Most of the monies were turned over to Ranjha in locations in Maryland.

On a few occasions the cooperating witness met Ranjha and other co-conspirators at Hamza, Inc. to provide monies for a particular hawala transfer.

Ranjha arranged with his associates for the equivalent amount of monies, minus commissions, to be delivered to the cooperating witness, his third party designee, or a designated bank account in Canada, England, Spain, Pakistan, Japan and Australia.

Ranjha kept a commission of approximately five percent of the amount of currency sought to be transferred on each occasion.

Other conspirators involved in a particular transaction retained an additional commission of between three to five percent of the transaction amount.

All the funds transferred abroad were picked up by cooperating individuals and returned to the Government.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation for their investigative work.

In addition, Mr. Rosenstein thanked our international partners, the Spanish National Police; Australian Federal Police; London Metropolitan Police; and Royal Canadian Mounted Police for their help.

Mr. Rosenstein commended Assistant United States Attorney Christine Manuelian who is prosecuting the case.

Source: The US Department of Justice

Whu do Muslims Support Hawala and Charity Operations that Support Jihad?

A new article on SSRN attempts to address the question: why do individuals support the work of charities that support jihadist operations, even when they may not agree with these organizations' agenda? The paper, entitled "Microfinancing Terrorism: A Study in Al Qaeda Financing Strategy", by Tolga Koker and Carlos Yordan (my thesis adviser while at Hamilton College), asserts that social pressure--rather than ideology--motivates individuals to donate to charities that may be affiliated with the global jihadist movement.

To test this claim, the authors construct a social choice model, where individuals derive different utilities from their private preferences (to support a jihadist movement) versus their public preferences (community reputation). The authors conclude that because Middle Eastern cultures value the collective over the individual, people will eventually acquiesce to social pressure and donate to these charities because the utility gained through group participation outweighs that from individuality.

This a provocative argument, as it suggests there may be an endless supply of financing to jihadist groups like al-Qaeda, as Muslim may always submit to social pressure and contribute funds. While there is much value in examining the social dynamics within Muslim culture that lead to the "microfinancing of terrorism",

I am not convinced that the dynamic presented by the authors is what actually provides the bulk of support for these illicit financial networks. More likely, these groups are simply exploiting the global hawala system to laundering and redirect funds.

The Center for Contemporary Conflict has presented excellent work discussing how jihadist groups exploit hawla, and more recent studies have shown this network to be extremely efficient at moving money around the world.

This exploitation can occur completely outside the purview of the individuals using the system, which would conflict with the idea that social pressure is motivating direct financing of these groups.

Put simply, many Muslims can be supporting groups like al-Qaeda without even knowing it.

The Rest @ Zero Intelligence Agents