Islamic banks and English lawyers were discussed at the forum in St. Petersburg

The V International Legal Forum, held in St. Petersburg, brought together more than 3.5 thousand guests from 84 countries. The prospects for the development of Islamic banking and Anglo-Saxon law became the main topics for discussion – after the sanctions, of course.

“Sorry for the sound like in double news,” a listener of a round table dedicated to the political risks of cross-border corporations began her question to the foreign speakers. And she was right. The technical aspect of holding the anniversary (fifth) St. Petersburg International Legal Forum caused confusion. The translators’ headphones were malfunctioning, the microphones partly did not work, and partly they worked so loudly that the participants in different tracks (separated from each other only by curtains) shouted over each other. Against the backdrop of bravura statements that we don’t care about sanctions, the difference in the level of organization of the 2015 and 2014 forums was especially striking to foreign lawyer guests (who, unlike politicians, are not afraid to travel to sanctioned countries).

Even before the start of the forum in the House of Justice on St. Isaac’s Square, the Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation Alexander Konovalov gathered his colleagues from the Ministries of Justice of the SCO countries for the conference. Ministers Berrik Imashev from Kazakhstan and Rustam Shokhmurod from Tajikistan, as well as lower-ranking colleagues from Iran, China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, responded to his call.

The main topic of discussion, of course, was sanctions, which were unanimously recognized as an absolute evil and completely illegal. But Konovalov and Imashev differed in their views on Anglo-Saxon law and the export of British justice to Eurasian countries. If the first called it a “capture of legal markets” and promised to fight it, the second noted that a financial center is being created in Astana, similar to Dubai, which will work precisely on the principles of Anglo-Saxon law, and for this Nursultan Nazarbayev is even ready to go for constitutional reform.

The theme of Dubai was continued the next day by the President of the Arab-European Association, Maxim Tafintsev, who held a conference on the prospects for the development of Islamic banking in the Russian Federation. This very Islamic banking has been actively developing for several years in Kazakhstan: after the collapse of the Turan-Alem bank during the 2008 crisis, the head of the neighboring republic drew attention to the trillions of dollars that were circulating in the Mohammedan financial world.

Our authorities remained deaf to the Muslim lobby literally until mid-2014. And they listen to it even more carefully now that financial flows from the West have become unavailable: the topic of reform allowing Islamic banks to operate in Russia is being discussed in the State Duma and the Federation Council. Even the head of Sberbank, German Gref, spoke today in favor of the development of Islamic banking in Russia and promised to develop it in every possible way. And in the conference hall, the dp.ru correspondent was able to notice very attentive listeners from Rosatom, Roscosmos and Rosneft. “China is, of course, our friend, but a very bureaucratic and politicized friend,” said Tafintsev. “And Islamic banks are very easy-going. This is important for our infrastructure projects.”

Round tables on the reform of the Civil Code were sold out among lawyers. They listened reverently to the former head of the Supreme Arbitration Court, Anton Ivanov, and to the deputies of the State Duma and the Federation Council. But managing partners of large law firms gathered on tracks dedicated to capital amnesty, hunting for assets of debtors abroad, as well as wealth management (management of personal assets of VIP clients). On the last track, consultants from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Croatia spoke about the peculiarities of real estate taxation in these countries, for example, the now former vice president of Rosneft for corporate issues, Igor Maydannik, who quit just a week ago, came to listen. “There are plans,” he admitted, “but that’s later. For now, travel.”

Published in https://investros.ru/

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Tafintsev Maxim Vladimirovich Moscow Bar Association № 77/14804 in the register of lawyers in Moscow Privacy Policy info@mt.com.ru 7 (495) 211 41 88 Telegram Vk

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Tafintsev Maxim Vladimirovich

Moscow Bar Association

№ 77/14804 in the register of lawyers in Moscow

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