IslamicFinance.de

Leader of Russia’s Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, is courting investment from Saudi Arabia. Kadyrov received a Saudi delegation in St Petersburg over the weekend, during which he discussed increasing the partnership between Chechenya and Riyadh. In January Kadyrov announced he is looking to open an Islamic bank, in order to attract investors from the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf.

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov plans to open an Islamic bank, with help from the United Arab Emirates. Kadyrov is known for his conservative, heavy-handed response to dissent against his rule and that of Russian President Vladimir Putin, recently calling for the Russian opposition to be tried as “enemies of the state.” Kadyrov has repeatedly portrayed himself as a protector of moderate Islam in the primarily Muslim Chechnya. Now Kadyrov has revealed that he is setting up a new project to attract more investment from the Gulf. He said he had spoken with Abu Dhabi-based development company Mazcorp and it had agreed to help him “move towards the realization of the project.”