Russia plans to open first Islamic bank, lawmaker says
State Duma official cites talks with Arab partners and central bank support as Moscow targets growing Sharia-compliant finance market
MOSCOW (MNTV) — Russia is planning to open its first Islamic bank, potentially as early as 2026, as authorities move to expand Sharia-compliant financing for the country’s sizable Muslim population, a senior lawmaker said.
Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, said officials are actively working on creating an Islamic bank within Russia and are consulting with domestic businesses, including those serving Muslim communities.
He made the remarks in Kazan while speaking at the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) Center.
Aksakov said negotiations are also underway with Arab countries, with plans to establish a partner subsidiary bank in the Middle East. Russia’s central bank has given preliminary support to the initiative, he added.
According to Aksakov, the project could give a significant boost to so-called partnership financing in Russia, a market estimated at about 1 trillion rubles ($12.7 billion).
Islamic finance operates under Sharia principles, which prohibit interest and excessive speculation, instead emphasizing asset-backed transactions, risk-sharing and links to real economic activity.
Islamic finance principles, based on Sharia law, focus on ethical, fair, and asset-backed transactions, prohibiting interest (riba), excessive uncertainty (gharar), and gambling (maysir).
Key concepts include profit and loss sharing (risk-sharing), linking finance to real economic activities (trade and assets), transparency, and social responsibility (zakat), ensuring money generates value through productive ventures, not just lending money for more money.
Russia’s Muslim population is estimated at around 20 million, or roughly 14 to 15 percent of the total population, making Islam the country’s second-largest religion. Muslim-majority regions include the North Caucasus — Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia — as well as the Volga regions of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan.
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