AMANIE ISLAMIC FINANCE CONSULTANCY AND EDUCATION LLC

Clarification from Amanie Business Solutions Sdn Bhd, Kuala Lumpur and Amanie Islamic Finance Consultancy and Education LLC (DIFC), Dubai on the Islamic Finance News report that its CEO/President and Managing Director, Dr Mohd Daud Bakar is seeking full time employment with Crescent Investments Australasia in Australia.
Kuala Lumpur, March 18th, 2010

It was reported in Islamic Finance News (‘IFN’) on Wednesday 17th March 2010 (Volume 7 Issue 11) that the President/Chief Executive Officer of Amanie Business Solutions Sdn Bhd (‘Amanie KL’) and Managing Director of Amanie Islamic Finance Consultancy and Education LLC (DIFC) Dubai (‘Amanie Dubai’), Dr Mohd Daud Bakar is purportedly moving to Australia to accept a full time employment with Crescent Investments Australasia Pty Ltd. (‘Crescent Investments’), a wealth management company that is based in Australia. It was further reported that Dr Bakar’s purported employment with Crescent Investments would require him to step down from being a member of Crescent Investment’s Shariah Supervisory Board.

We wish to put on record that the above report is baseless, unfounded and unsubstantiated and we vehemently deny the said report. Dr Bakar is still and henceforth will remain the President/Chief Executive Officer of Amanie Business Solutions Sdn Bhd and the Managing Director of Amanie Islamic Finance Consultancy and Education LLC (DIFC) Dubai, both of which are founded by him. Dr Bakar also has no plans to relinquish any of his current positions as Shariah Advisor to various institutions.

Dr Bakar was indeed involved in the UAE Islamic Finance Mission to Australia, which was jointly organized by Dubai Export Development Corporation and Austrade (8-12 February 2010). The mission was aimed, among others, to explore the potentials of Islamic finance business development in Australia. Amanie Dubai, which is managed by Dr Bakar is licensed under DIFC Authority since August 2008. Up to date, Amanie Dubai has many clients across the globe of which some are domiciled in Australia, including Crescent Investment.

Amanie International Shariah Supervisory Board, in which Dr Bakar is a member, has been appointed as the Shariah Supervisory Board of Crescent Investment effective from 1st October 2009 to provide Shariah guidance on the activities and investments of the Islamic fund managed by Crescent Investment. There was no discussion of having Dr Bakar on full time employment in the company as was reported by IFN news. As there is no case for the full time employment of Dr Bakar in Crescent Investment, his membership as a member of the Shariah Supervisory Board in the Crescent fund will not be affected as was inaccurately reported by IFN.

We regret should this inaccurate report cause any inconvenience to our clients and potential clients. Dr Bakar has been serving many Islamic financial institutions and Islamic funds on a global scale as a Shariah Board member and will continue to perform that task diligently and professionally. On the other hand, Amanie as a global Shariah advisory firm will continue to expand its businesses and activities in other new markets which require Shariah advisory services as we are always pleased to be a part of this global phenomenon of Islamic finance.

Taking into account the implications that may arise from this inaccurate report, we are currently considering the proper legal recourse through our appointed legal advisors to manage the negative implications of this inaccurate report as this may damage the reputation of Dr Bakar and Amanie respectively.

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