posted by Christopher W. Holton Kuwait made a splash with its debut in the international bond market in mid-March, raising $8 billion from regional and international investors following a five-day roadshow in London and three cities in the United States. Demand was high, with more than 778 orders totaling $29 billion, according to officials. The […]
The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs permanently closed down the Fahd al-Ahmed charity on Sunday due to “repeated violations despite the warnings”. Quoting a source at the ministry, al-Rai said that the ministry had repeatedly asked the charity to comply with regulations stipulating that funds for Syrians be collected through official channels. Officials from the charity […]
Kuwait Finance House Continues Spread of Shariah Finance in Turkey
Kuwait Finance House (KFH) continues to facilitate the spread of Shariah finance in Turkey. They just inked a new $350 million banking and mortgage deal through their Turkish affiliate. Turkey continues to drift toward Islamization and away from the rest of NATO… http://ameinfo.com/blog/finance-and-economy/kfh-announces-successful-conclusion-350m-syndicated-club-murabaha-facility-kfh-turkey/
A new United Nations report has concluded that wealthy financiers in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait are using the illicit charcoal trade in Somalia to fund the Jihadist terror group Al Shabaab. Key financiers of Islamist militants in Somalia are operating with impunity in Gulf states, undermining efforts to end an insurgency in the Horn […]
Throughout 2012 and 2013, during which Syrian opposition groups received mostly rhetorical, rather than material, support from the United States and Western nations, Sunni politicians and clerics in the Arab Gulf raised millions for the rebellion, turning Kuwait into a regional hub for private donations. Dozens of clerics and opposition politicians have held fundraisers and gatherings to […]
Report: Islamic State “Banker” Was Director of Islamic School in UK
One of the Islamic State terror group’s key financiers was director of an Islamic madrassa in Birmingham, England. Prominent Islamic cleric Dr Nabil al-Awadi, a naturalized Kuwaiti, was a part-time resident in the UK until last year, living in Brixton, south London. Now he is president of the Kuwait Scholars’ Union, which has reportedly channelled tens of millions […]
The Islamic State That Kuwait and Qatar Built
The Gulf states of Kuwait and Qatar have actively – and openly – helped terrorist money-raising efforts for the Islamic State. …the West has belatedly realised that some of its supposed friends in the Gulf have been playing the disloyalty card. Had Kuwait not been freed by American, British and allied troops in 1991, it […]
In February 2014, the Kuwaiti KUNA press agency announced that a Montreal high school administered by Samer Al-Majthoub (aka Samer Majzoub) received an amount equivalent to $US 70,671 from the embassy of Kuwait in Canada. The embassy was acting on behalf of Kuwait’s Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs. Recent GMBDW articles have highlighted other recent contributions […]
Kuwait’s ambassador to the United States, Sheik Salem Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah, claims his country is committed to fighting terrorism after the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on three Kuwaiti men suspected of helping finance Jihadist organizations in Iraq and Syria. http://www.ottawastar.com/kuwait-vows-to-fight-terrorism-after-us-sanctions-its-citizens-over-suspected-militant-links/
US Treasury Sanctions Three Kuwaitis for Funding Al Nusrah Front, ISIS
The U.S. Treasury Department said this week that it has imposed sanctions on three financiers of terrorism. The three Kuwait-based financiers are suspected of funding Jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq, underscoring the growing concern about Kuwaitis’ links to Al Qaeda and other Jihadist terror groups. The Treasury Department’s counterterrorism arm has grown increasingly vocal in recent months about Kuwaitis’ […]
Oh The Irony! Kuwait steps up controls on Islamic charities
Kuwait is suddenly worried about Islamic charities funding Jihadist organizations, such as ISIS, who have threatened monarchies around the Middle East… …Where has this concern been the past decade? Kuwait has stepped up controls on Islamic charities, including donations for war-ravaged Syria, as part of measures to curb funding for “extremists.” http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=67445
The Voice of America has just published a report implicating wealthy Saudis, Kuwaitis and Qataris in the funding of global jihad. The report also points out the role played by Islamic charities in the financing of Jihad. This of course comes as no surprise to long-time readers of SFW… http://www.voanews.com/content/islamist-insurgency-fueled-by-global-finance-web/1952337.html
It is no surprise that another Kuwaiti financial institution is becoming Shariah-compliant. But it does illustrate something about the whole march of Shariah compliance. For many years, conventional banking and finance proliferated and even flourished in the oil-rich Islamic world. The march to Shariah-compliance is relatively recent and is more tied to political motives than […]
The US Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen has unofficially accused the Minister of Justice and Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Dr Nayef Al-Ajmi of longstanding support and funding of terrorism. http://www.arabtimesonline.com/NewsDetails/tabid/96/smid/414/ArticleID/204846/t/US-official-‘accuses’-Kuwait’s-Awqaf-minister-of-funding-terror/Default.aspx
IPT Report: Kuwait Financing Muslim Brotherhood Infiltration of West Through Mosques
The indispensable experts over at Steve Emerson’s Investigative Project on Terrorism have uncovered a Kuwaiti scheme to fund terrorism and radical Islam in the West via mosques. It seems the Kuwaitis are funding mosques in Europe and paying the salaries of radical Imams who are pushing Wahhabism and promoting the now-discredited Muslim Brotherhood in the […]
Islamic Charities Revealed: Bankrollers of Terror
Foreign Policy magazine recently published an excellent article on the role of Islamic charities in funding Jihadist terrorism, something we’ve been writing about here on SFW for several years now. Authors Daveed Gartenstein-Ross and Aaron Y. Zelin detail in the article how Islamic NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) are bankrolling terrorist organizations under the guise of “aid.” […]
Sovereign Sukuk to Push Shariah Bond Market
The Sukuk (Islamic bond) market is expected to grow by 30 percent in 2013, led by sovereign sukuk that will continue to dominate, due largely to new countries that will issue sukuk, according to a report from Kuwait Finance House (KFH). Sovereign issuers led the market share in 2012 despite a record amount of corporate […]
Gulf Nations to Continue Shariah-Compliant Sukuk Push
HSBC Bank, perhaps the West’s most shameful pimp for Shariah-Compliant Finance, and a serial violator of Treasury regulations regarding Iran sanctions, is reporting that the market for Shariah-Compliant bonds (known as sukuk or Islamic bonds) is set to break records in 2013 thanks to the proliferation of issues from Gulf states. Mohammed Dawood of HSBC […]
Kuwaiti Turkish Banking Firm Aims to Become First Shariah Bank in Germany
Kuwait Finance House’s Turkish operation, Kuveyt Turk, has applied for a German banking licence and aims to become the first Shariah-compliant bank in Germany. The bank says that if their German venture is successful, they will expand to other European countries. Note that the bank aims to pursue non-Muslim depositors in Germany… Kuveyt Turk aims […]
Bangladesh, Banking and Terrorism Financing
“Some linkages between Islamic Banking and terrorist organizations have now been brought into the open, but the networks have not been dismantled.” Bangladesh has a long history of weakness on money laundering and the use of banks to funnel money to Jihadist terrorist organizations. The country is now on the verge of being blacklisted for […]
“KFH” arrange in cooperation with Citigroup and HSBC the first Sukuk issuance for the Turkish Treasury of USD1.5 bln Kuwait Finance House ” KFH ” represented by its subsidiary, Liquidity Management House “LMH”, succeeded in arranging for Ijarah Sukuk for the Turkish Treasury amounting USD1.5bln for 5 ½ years, in cooperation with Citigroup and HSBC, where this is […]
King & Spalding advises on NIG sukuk repayment… http://mideast.legalbusinessonline.com/news/breaking-news/exclusive-king-and-spalding-advises-on-nig-sukuk-repayment-sources/109050
West Point Report: Haqqani network supported by “rich donors”
By way of CNN, we have still more evidence of financial support for violent jihad by wealthy Muslims in the Persian Gulf region. The Haqqani network is one of the most virulent Jihadist groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan and has been battling US troops for several years. It is closely allied with both Al Qaeda and […]
More on NIG’s Sukuk Trouble
As we reported yesterday, Kuwait’s National Industries Group has asked for a 4-year extension on repayment of its Islamic bond (sukuk). As might be suspected, NIG is in danger of becoming the next in line for the long line of defaults in the sukuk market. Moody’s is on the cusp on downgrading NIG’s rating: Moody’s […]
Kuwait’s NIG asks for 4-year Extension on $475M Sukuk Issue
The latest sign of trouble in the Islamic bond market… National Industries Group Holding (NIG), a Kuwaiti investment firm controlled by one of the country’s biggest family conglomerates, has asked creditors for a four-year extension on a $475-million Islamic bond, or sukuk, maturing next month. The request from NIG, part of the Kharafi Group, is […]
Just in time for the victory by socialists, facilitated at least partially by Islamist backing, Shariah-Compliant Finance has entered the real estate market in France… La Française AM has launched the first Sharia compliant OPCI – collective real estate vehicles with simplified investment rules with leverage – into the French market as part of the […]
The U.S. Treasury Department’s point man on terrorist financing is off to the Middle East for nearly two weeks. Daniel Glaser, assistant Treasury secretary for terrorist financing, will travel to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Glaser will talk with government and private sector officials about the threat of terrorist financing, […]
Kuwait’s troubled Islamic investment firm International Investment Group (IIG) says it has reached an agreement with most of its creditors to restructure its $200 million sukuk (Islamic bond) issue. IIG defaulted on sukuk payments back in 2010. In the 2008-2010 period there was a rash of defaults on sukuk, which came as a shock to […]
Another sukuk in trouble: Investment Dar had its Islamic bonds delisted from Nasdaq Dubai because the Kuwait-based owner of half of Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd. didn’t comply with the regulator’s disclosure requirements. The company also missed a payment on an Islamic bond (sukuk) in May 2009. The shares of Investment Dar were also delisted from the […]
Jonathan Schanzer: Saudi Arabia’s Terror Finance Problem
An excellent article from noted expert Jonathan Schanzer on Saudi Arabia’s citizens’ support for Jihad…Keep in mind that this is the same Saudi citizenry heavily involved in Shariah Finance, yet we are expected to believe that there is no threat of Jihadist terrorism benefiting from Shariah Finance… The Saudis produce, thanks to proceeds from the […]
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