For several years now, anti-financial crime (AFC) regulations have prohibited the operation of shell banks. A shell bank is a bank that has no physical presence in the jurisdiction where it is incorporated or licensed and no affiliation with a regulated financial group.
Although Shariah-influenced finance has existed for centuries, the first modern Islamic banks were not established until the early 1960s. Today, Islamic banking is spreading throughout the Middle East and Africa, in countries where a majority of the population is Muslim. Combining modern technology with ancient religious principles, Islamic banking is rich with opportunity for financial firms seeking to serve this growing consumer market, especially those who have not been served well by conventional banks.