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Weekly Lists
July 27, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 26
bne:Banker Much criticised Iranian
central bank chief replaced amid rial crisis
US investor Browder targets Danske Bank’s Estonian branch in money laundering case
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on July 25 replaced the head of Iran’s central bank with the collapse of the Iranian rial (IRR) continuing to take a heavy toll on the country’s economy.
Abdolnasser Hemmati has been named governor of the regulator, replacing Valiollah Seif, who was in the post for five years. Hemmati, 61, previously headed Central Insurance of Iran and was managing director of Bank Meli and Sina Bank.
Seif and the central bank have been heavily criticised for Iran’s handling of the currency crisis sparked by the US move to reimpose heavy sanctions on the Islamic Republic following the unilateral with- drawal of Washington from the multilateral nuclear deal in early May.
The US investor Bill Browder has filed a criminal complaint with the Estonian authorities over an alleged case of money laundering by the Estonian branch of Danske Bank, newswires reported on July 25.
As much as €7.1bn may have been laundered via the bank’s Estonian operations, Danish and international media reported
in July. The alleged money laundering is the focus of probes by financial regulatory authorities in Denmark and Estonia, as well as an internal investigation by Danske Bank.
The Estonian Office of the Prosecutor General confirmed it had received Browder’s complaint but said details on further action would not be provided until after the complaint had been analysed.
Uzbekistan plans to introduce Islamic finance regulations and set up an Islamic finance institution, Reuters reported on July 25.
That will help the Central Asian nation expand its banking sector and tap foreign markets as part of ongoing efforts to attract foreign investment.
The new legislation will allow the country to introduce a wide range of sharia-compliant products, including Islamic bonds and insur- ance. The legislation will be drafted with the Saudi-based Islamic Development Bank and will be based on the religious principles of banning lending interest and monetary speculation in order to at- tract investments from the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Uzbekistan to introduce Islamic finance legislation