RUSSIA - The Akbars Bank debut Islamic Syndication

by Alberto Brugnoni - ASSAIF - On 17 December 2010, at 4.30 in the morning, I was standing outside my hotel in Kazan in the middle of a snowstorm waiting for Anatoly, my driver, to take me to the airport. I had to board the early flight heading back to Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport to catch my connection that would take me back to my much coveted wandering life as an Islamic finance consultant in the Middle East.  (source)

RUSSIA - Project and infrastructure finance in Russia: Opportunities for Islamic finance

IFN - ROUSTAM VAKHITOV and SERIK ISKAKOV discuss whether it is possible to structure infrastructure projects in Russia in a simultaneously Shariah compliant and tax efficient manner?

Good infrastructure is vital for Russia’s development due to the vastness of its territories. This includes roads, railways and related machinery, industrial plants, airports and aircrafts, oil and gas pipelines power lines as well as power stations and other projects.

Most of these infrastructure projects in Russia were implemented 50 years ago and now the lifetime of these assets is approaching the end of their exploitable economic life. Therefore the replacement or renovation of a significant quantity of infrastructure assets in the future will be an important part of the Russian economic landscape. rest of story : IFN

RUSSIA - Islamic Finance in Russia – Developments in 2010

 
Rustam Vakhitov
Head of International Tax Service Group
Pepeliaev Group

It has been a year since the first conference on Islamic finance in December 2009. Over the year there have been quite a number of significant events taking place, all of which will influence the development of Islamic finance in Russia. Among these, the major milestones are the establishment of the Russian Association of Experts in Islamic Finance; the first Halal Expo Exhibition; publication of an authorized translation of the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions’ Standards of Islamic Finance Transactions; and the first Islamic finance deals on the Russian market.