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Most critics of Sanusi start with the idea that the Nigerian Central Bank had over-reached its mandate. Although they are probably right, his activities must be applauded in a country where institutional failure has reached epic proportions. Sanusi has been a clear promoter of industrial policy for many years. His passion for tackling the oil sector corruption started on day one of his job. In parse ing through the bad debts that had been run up by the banks, he saw the cancer of the fuel subsidy racket. He didn’t flinch in taking on the banks, he didn’t flinch in taking on the fuel subsidy cabal, he didn’t flinch in taking on the power cabal, he didn’t flinch in taking on the NNPC. Is he a one-man anti-corruption agency – of course not. But if not him, then who? Nigeria is about to find out.

Indonesia is facing tough economic challenges and a period of political uncertainty. In this climate, Indonesia needs to restore foreign investors’ trust and redirect their attention to its strong fundamentals: a politically stable country with the world’s fourth largest population and a young and growing consumer base. One fundamental step to restoring this trust and raising Indonesia’s standing as an attractive investment destination is to shore up the private sector’s corporate governance practices. Indonesian companies can build trust by protecting the rights of shareholders and honoring their obligations to staff, investors, suppliers and local communities. They should also institute a competent and independent board that can review management decisions.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped Al- Rajhi Bank, the world’s largest Shariah-compliant lender, as a correspondent banking client amid a push to improve risk controls. The relationship with the bank ended Dec. 31 because JPMorgan couldn’t get enough information on where payments in dollar-clearing services for Al-Rajhi had originated. JPMorgan said it cut off the service to about 500 foreign lenders last year as regulators press the world’s biggest banks to verify that transactions are used for legitimate business. The crackdown seeks to halt funds tied to money laundering, terrorism and countries covered by economic sanctions. The two banks haven’t been cited by U.S. regulators for involvement in illegal money transfers.

Islamic Development Bank’s top officials have traveled to Tehran to sign the contract with the Iranian officials for the first part of the 3 billion-dollar loan they had agreed before. The first part of the loan will be paid to a few cities in the Southern Iranian province of Fars for implementing sewage projects. But there are other areas for which the 3-billion-dollar loan will be used. So far, the IDB has allocated loans to Iran in railway, water sources, environment, automotive and other sectors. With almost ten percent of the shares, Iran is the third major shareholder of the bank. The ratification of Iran's parliament to increase the countrie's share in IDB is pending.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) will allocate a 144 million euro loan for wastewater projects in the Iranian southern Fars province. For that purpose, the IDB and the Fars province's Water and Wastewater Company have signed a memorandum of understanding on the issue. The company will implement wastewater projects in the Darab, Fasa, Sepidan, Abadeh, Neiriz and Firouzabad cities of the province using the IDB`s loan. The IDB has already allocated some 800 million euros of loans in total for Iran's water and wastewater projects, in Mashhad city, Qom and Kashan, and Tehran among others. The IDB has paid more than 3 billion euros to Iran for implementing its projects so far, of which 70 percent were spent on dam building and water and wastewater projects of the energy ministry.

The National Commercial Bank (NCB) has successfully placed its SR5 billion 10 non-call 5-year subordinated Tier II capital sukuk offering. The transaction represents NCB's debut of local riyal issuance and its inaugural Tier II capital offering. Interest from the investor community generated a 2.1x oversubscribed orderbook exceeding the initial target issuance size of SR4 billion, allowing the transaction to be upsized to SR5 billion without impacting the final pricing of the sukuk. NCB's issuance was priced at 6-month SIBOR+110bps. The issuance proceeds will be used to further support NCB's growth plans across the various business segments of the bank.

Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House has announced its fourth-quarter net profit has more than doubled due to revenue derived from investments. The investment firm made a net profit of $5.2 million in the three months to Dec. 31, up from $2.5 million in the prior-year period. However, for the 2013 full year, GFH's net profit fell 37.2 percent to $6.3 million. This decline came despite a 20 percent reduction in operating costs, as the firm continued to aggressively cut expenses in the wake of a number of debt restructurings in recent years. GFH, through its Dubai-based subsidiary GFH Capital, agreed to sell 75 percent of Leeds United to Italian Massimo Cellino earlier this month.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has notified the Securities and Exchange Commission (micro-insurance) Rules, 2014, which will also regulate the micro-takaful business in the country. According to the rules, the word micro-insurance may be used interchangeably with the word micro-takaful; life micro-insurance with family micro-takaful; non-life micro-insurance with general micro-takaful; premium with contribution and insurer with operator. The commission has limited the sums insured under different concepts of micro-insurance. The SECP has also issued Code of Consumer Protection applicable on all insurers / operators in the business of micro-insurance / takaful. Moreover, the commission issued the Code of Conduct for Micro-insurance Agents applicable on all micro-insurance / takaful agents and their specified persons.

Istanbul-based participation bank Kuveyt Türk, which raised its profit by 20 percent to 300 million Turkish Liras last year, announced ambitious plans for 2014. The lender is aiming to reach 320 branches across Turkey, opening a branch in Qatar and establishing a bank in Germany in 2014. In addition to this, it is planning to issue a Malaysian ringgit- or dollar-denominated sukuk in Malaysia, according to Kuveyt Türk CEO Ufuk Uyan. The Istanbul-based bank has applied to Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) in order to carry out its loan and deposit operations in Germany in October. The bank has opened 47 branches within Turkey, extending the number of its branches operating domestically and abroad to 267.

The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi claimed that 20 billion US dollars had gone missing from the coffers of the NNPC. Two weeks later, he was been suspended and relieved of his duties. As a next step, he will probably be subjected to a formal probe and the EFCC will be called in to investigate his tenure of office. Femi Fani Kayode commends his immense courage for speaking out and exposing the monuemental corruption in the government that he once served and that has now decided that they no longer require his services. Kayode is convinced that if you speak truth to power and you take on the system, the system will fight back and they will attempt to destroy you and all that is yours. Yet at the end of the day, the only road that is worth taking is the road of righteousness and truth, and it is the only one that leads to lasting honour and glory.

Nigeria's central bank governor Lamido Sanusi has been suspended by the president for "financial recklessness and misconduct". Mr Sanusi caused shockwaves in Nigeria when he alleged that $20bn (£12bn) in oil revenue had gone missing. He said he would challenge his suspension in order to preserve the central bank's independence. Meanwhile, foreign exchange, bond and money markets have stopped trading because of uncertainty caused by the move. The president, however, does not have the power to sack the central bank governor - only the National Assembly can do this. Although his term in office was due to end in June, the decision to suspend him now is still highly significant. Many Nigerians will think the president has chosen to suspend the whistleblower rather than focus on stopping fraud.

The President of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali, and the UK Senior Minister of State for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Baroness Warsi of Dewsbury, view positively the fast growth of Islamic finance in the UK. During a visit to the IDB headquarters in Jeddah, Baroness Warsi told the IDB President that significant progress has been achieved by the UK Government in terms of Islamic finance. The UK is close to issuing its first sovereign sukuk which will possibly be issued by mid-2014, she said. Dr Ali and the Minister reiterated their commitment to the growing IDB-UK partnership in the area of development assistance and the economic empowerment of women. They also agreed to explore potential partnership opportunities in the development of Awqaf.

The RCMP's GTA Financial Crime Unit in collaboration with the Ontario Region Special Investigation Unit of the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy (OSB), have charged two Toronto area men with offences under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) and the Criminal Code (CC). Omar Farooq KALAIR, age 38, of Toronto and Yusuf PANCHBHAYA, age 55, of Mississauga have been charged individually and jointly with several offences, like fraud and theft among others. The charges are in relation to events surrounding the November 2011 bankruptcies of UM CAPITAL INC. and UM FINANCIAL INC. of Toronto. The allegations relate to the misappropriation of approximately $ 4.3 million in mortgage payments, the purchase & disappearance of 32kgs of gold bars, and the abuse of the bankruptcy process.

While 40% of its population has been classified as at food risk by World Food Bank for two consecutive years (2012-2013), Yemen is also home to many billionaires’ businessmen, a reality which had many activists ponder over the principles of social responsibility and social ethic. Hayel Saeed Anam multi-national corporation, for example, is by far one of Yemen’s most visible local benefactors with a series of working social, educational and sports programs. Moreover, Hamid al-Ahmar, a billionaire entrepreneur with significant political influence, runs charitable programs, mainly directed to orphans and the most vulnerable (distribution of food, medicine and other necessities). While it would be wrong to deny that Yemen’ super-rich have indeed given back to the lesser fortunate, one could hope that its billionaires would somehow step in where the central government has failed.

Islamic banking assets in Egypt are expected to reach around EGP 128 billion (USD 18.4 billion) in 2014, realizing an average growth of 10% to 12%. Islamic banking assets were valued at EGP 114 billion in 2013, up 11% from the previous year. Islamic financing extended by banks rose 6% to EGP 76.4 billion in 2013 while deposits grew by 13% to EGP 103 billion in the same period. The Islamic banking sector accounts for 7% of total banking assets in Egypt. Meanwhile, investors from Saudi Arabia are reportedly evaluating various investment opportunities in Egypt, including in the industrial and agricultural sectors, but are waiting for the political and security situation to stabilize before making a move.

Companies selling takaful in Indonesia are boosting agent numbers and product ranges ahead of a new rule that will require them to be run independently. Indonesia is so far dominated by takaful "windows" which allow insurers to offer Islamic and conventional products side by side. However, a new law requiring takaful firms to be spun off into stand-alone businesses is expected this year. Operating costs are expected to triple when the takaful business is spun off. Takaful firms have also begun to explore new streams of revenue in market segments that remain relatively untapped, like savings products for pilgrimages to Mecca. Moreover, agents are branching out into Indonesia's rural areas, moving beyond markets already crowded with conventional players.

Fitch Ratings has assigned Export Import Bank of Malaysia's (MEXIM) USD300m 2.874% sukuk due 2019 a final rating of 'A-'. The Islamic bonds are issued under MEXIM's USD1bn multi-currency sukuk programme established through EXIM Sukuk Malaysia. The sukuk rating is the same as MEXIM's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR). EXIM Sukuk Malaysia, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) incorporated solely to facilitate sukuk issues, will use the sukuk proceeds to purchase eligible assets from MEXIM. However, any deterioration in the Malaysian sovereign's creditworthiness and ratings or in the government's propensity to support MEXIM would hurt the IDR and hence the sukuk rating.

AmIslamic Bank, subsidiary of AMMB Holdings, has received the necessary approvals from both Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission of Malaysia to set up a subordinated Sukuk Murabahah programme with a value of RM3bn. The subordinated Sukuk Murabahah programme has a tenor of up to 30 years from the date of issue and each tranche will have a tenor of five years minimum. In a market filing the issuer said that RAM Rating Services had assigned a preliminary long-term rating of 'AA3' to the Subordinated Sukuk Murabahah under the programme.

This exclusive interview with Sanusi Lamido Sanusi took place after SaharaReporters followed the ousted CBN governor from the airport to a residence in Lagos shortly after his arrival from Niamey in Niger Republic following his ouster from office by President Goodluck Jonathan.

Organised in conjunction with the Harvard Islamic Finance Project, Farmida Bi talks on Islamic finance in the Western world. Farmida Bi is partner and European head of Islamic Finance, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP. Dr Paul Mills is senior economist at International Monetary Finance, London.

Recorded on 12 February 2014 in New Theatre, East Building.