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All money withdrawn from accounts of Islamic law bank in Russia’s Tatarstan

KAZAN, March 16. /TASS/. Customers withdrew all assets from the Partner Banking Center (PBC), a Russian Sharia-compliant banking structure operating in Russia’s Volga area Republic of Tatarstan, fearing that the parent company may lose its license, an expert said Thursday.

The Partner Banking Center is a subsidiary of Tatagroprombank, which may have its Central Bank license revoked for being under-capitalized.

"Individuals who had PBC accounts, emptied them one hundred percent,’ said Iskander Iskhakov, the head of the Russian Center for Islamic Economy and Finance at the Russian Islamic Institute.

"There is still hope that other banks will deal with this issue. It would be right if another bank, for example Ak Bars Bank, took the PBC under its control," he said.

The Partner Banking Center opened in Tatarstan’s capital Kazan last March. It is a pilot project under the Bank of Russia’s roadmap to develop financial institutions consistent with the Islamic law (Sharia) in Russia. Banks operating under the Sharia law are not allowed to charge interest or fees for loans of money and had to use other alternatives.

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