Bahrain tightens Islamic finance rules with mandatory external audit

Dubai

BAHRAIN is tightening its rules for Islamic banks by requiring all of them to undergo independent, external audits to certify that they are following Muslim laws known as Syariah.

The move, announced by the central bank on Sunday, could make Bahrain among the strictest jurisdictions for Islamic banking and help Manama maintain prominence in the industry, which it helped to pioneer, against competition from centres such as Dubai and Kuala Lumpur.