Sheikh Bilal Khan MBA

Darul Uloom Karachi & Jamia Abdullah Bin Masood

BPP University

University of Gloucestershire

BPP Law School

University of Leeds

DG/SG  -  CEO  -  CSO  -  CLO/GC  -  NED  -  Board Member  -  Partner  -  Lawyer  -  International Arbitrator/Mediator

United Kingdom

I am a Partner & Global Head of Islamic Finance at the international law firm, McCarthy Denning, headquartered in the City of London. Commerciality is our lawyers’ defining factor. It runs through every piece of advice we offer our clients and underpins the relationships we build with them. Our expertise focuses all aspects of law, supported by a range of full-service practice across all the sectors (<a href="https://mccarthydenning.com/team/sheikh-bilal-khan-mba/">https://mccarthydenning.com/team/sheikh-bilal-khan-mba/</a>).

McCarthy Denning

Partner & Global Head of Islamic Finance

I established an international boutique private office for all my current and future services related to State and Government advisory, investment consultancy, business management, board appointments, public speaking and media engagements.

All contact details of executive assistants, chief advisers and consultants will be available soon.

Private Office of Sheikh Bilal Khan

Owner/CEO

I was appointed by the Pakistan Prime Minister's Office, Board of Investment as an Honorary Investment Counsellor from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the Republic of Kazakhstan for a period of 3 years. My duties include but are not limited to:

image building of Pakistan;
marketing and promoting investments in priority sectors;
building effective business relationships;
organising periodic investment delegations/visits/conferences

Prime Minister's Office, Board of Investment, Government of Pakistan

Honorary Investment Counsellor

I was appointed to the Global Industry Advisory Committee (GIAC) of the Halal Trade & Marketing Center (HTMC) as part of a select group of 6-8 global industry experienced leaders. HTMC was co-founded by the Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (DAFZA) and the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC).

GIAC’s purpose is to play a leadership role in providing guidance to HTMC management on the effectiveness and success of the Centre in enabling Halal markets trade and development worldwide.

HTMC is a global business development center focused on the Halal economy opportunities for manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors of Halal economy products and services. HTMC is hosted by DAFZA but substantially supported by key partners across the Halal economy ecosystem.

HTMC serves as a one-stop shop for all their market intelligence, Halal compliance, and most importantly growth support services.

HTMC is based on an identified big gap of helping Halal industry companies in developing and developed market grow their business worldwide.

HTMC aims to provide a platform to link Halal economy companies to core Halal trade and marketing services.

Halal Trade and Marketing Centre

Member of Global Industry Advisory Committee

Astana International Financial Centre

Advisory Board Member of Academy of Law

I have been appointed by the Chairman of the Management Board and the CEO as one of five members of the AIFC Central Shari'ah Advisory Board (CSAB) with the mandate to advise and approve all Shari'ah matters of the AIFC including the Islamic finance policies and guidelines as well as any sovereign Sukuk and other such instruments and securities. The other four CSAB members are Dr. Mohd Daud Bakar, Dr. Mohammed Ali Elgari, Sheikh Esam Ishaq and Dr. Imran Usmani.

Member of Central Shari'ah Advisory Board

I was appointed by the Governing Council of Malta Islamic Finance Association (MIFA) as its Secretary General and Mr Reuben Buttigieg as its President. MIFA is the first and only national body of its kind created by statute and officially endorsed by the Maltese Government.

MIFA liaises with governments, quasi-governmental institutions, multilateral organisations, standard setting bodies, agencies and regulatory authorities as well as the private sector. With the input of the stakeholders, it is working closely with the government to draft amendments to the legislation and regulatory framework that will permit Islamic Financial Institutions to benefit from stronger links with EU member states and also help position Malta as an Islamic Finance Hub and a gateway to both North Africa and the wider Middle East and to the Commonwealth of which Malta is a member.

MIFA - Malta Islamic Finance Association

Secretary General

I have been appointed by Barbara Dohmann QC, Chairman of the AIFC International Arbitration Centre, onto the Panel of approved arbitrators and mediators for presiding over and adjudicating on international commercial disputes where parties elect AIFC as their seat of arbitration. It is an honour to serve alongside world class international arbitrators and leading global experts who are senior British and international judges and Queens Counsel. List of the panel arbitrators can be viewed at <a href="http://aifc-iac.kz/arbitrators-mediators">http://aifc-iac.kz/arbitrators-mediators</a>

AIFC International Arbitration Centre

Adjudicating Arbitrator & Mediator

Dome Advisory is a unique Islamic finance and Shariah advisory firm led by English qualified lawyers and Shariah Scholars. We offer a full range of Islamic finance and Shariah advisory services including legal documentation, structuring and Shariah opinions from our headquarters in the City of London. This enables us to draft legal contracts while appreciating the Shariah underpinnings and conduct Shariah structuring taking into account the regulatory regime and legal enforeceability.

Recent work:
-  Advising a private wealth fund of a ruling family member in the GCC on the £1/2 bn acquisition of several high value equine assets and stately homes in UK and Ireland.
-  Advising the Bank of England on structuring a Shari’ah compliant central bank wakala deposit facility including a high quality Sukuk fund to serve as asset backing for the deposits (ongoing).
-  Advising Twinza Oil Limited on structuring Convertible Musahama Notes in order to grant the investors a right to convert the Shari’ah-compliant Notes into shares (ongoing).
-  Advising Duff & Phelps and Harneys representing a Cayman company in the AHAB v SAAD litigation in the court of the Grand Cayman (ongoing).
-  Advising SAH Global in relation to its pioneering chain of Proton Therapy cancer treatment projects in the Middle East and Europe with a total value of U$450m, including structuring tranches of Shari’ah compliant equity, preferred equity and Parallel Istisna’a (ongoing).
-  Advised Soma Oil & Gas in relation to a Production Sharing Agreement with the Federal Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia.
-  Advised the UK Financial Ombudsman on dealing with customer complaints relating to Islamic financial institutions and products.
-  Advised AAOIFI in Bahrain on the review of its Shari’ah Standards in English and Arabic.
-  Advising Thomson Reuters on an on-line Islamic Finance legal information service platform, including drafting a suite of legal practice and drafting notes and example documentation.

Dome Advisory

Non Executive Chairman

Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales after qualifying with a 'Magic Circle' English law firm in the City of London and admitted to practice by the Solicitors Regulation Authority with experience in all aspects of banking, finance, capital markets and corporate work as well as sitting as an arbitrator and mediator in cross-border commercial disputes with special expertise in Islamic Finance and the interplay of English law and Islamic Shariah law.

Solicitors Regulation Authority

Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England & Wales

Appointed as DG and CEO of International Islamic Food Processing Association (IFPA) after the successful Resolution of the IOFS 3rd General Assembly, consisting of 57 Ministers of Agriculture from the OIC Member States, held in the Republic of Turkey in December 2020. Thereafter the appointment was duly enacted pursuant to the Board Resolution of the International IFPA and registered as part of the successful registration at the Astana International Financial Centre. International IFPA is a non-profit organisation with IOFS as its sole Founding Member. While IOFS is a G2G multilateral OIC-specialized institution similar to the IsDB Group, International IFPA is a B2B private-sector engaging entity for all OIC ecosystem players in the agri-food industry with the aim to enable and promote intra-OIC Halal trade and investment in the agri-food sector across the entire value chain from gene to fork through Shariah-compliant tools and sustainable tech solutions, thereby reducing/removing the following: import-dependency of OIC-based food companies on non-OIC companies; post-harvest losses; food wastage; barriers to trade; lack or inefficient use of innovative technology (agri-tech, food-tech and fin-tech). International IFPA is managed on a day-to-day by the office of the DG and CEO who reports to the board and is guided by the Governing Board and the Advisory Board. International IFPA is a representative umbrella body for all its members and provides general and bespoke services through its strategic service partner institutions and trade bodies from across the OIC markets.

International Islamic Food Processing Association

Director General and Chief Executive Officer

Currently serving as Adviser to DG of IOFS after previous role as Head of the International Islamic Food Processing Association (International IFPA) Project Office.

International IFPA is one of the strategic initiatives proposed by the Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS) during the second General Assembly held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in August 2019. International IFPA aims to develop a direct relationship between agricultural businesses in the IOFS/OIC Member States by establishing B2B cooperation between private sectors among IOFS/OIC Member States. The activities of International IFPA are geared towards solving problems such as reduction of post-harvest losses, distribution, and promotion of agricultural products, strengthening the supply chain and reduction of production costs through advanced technologies. The International IFPA will also become a platform for strengthening intra-OIC trade relations, enhancing investment activities between IOFS/OIC Member States, developing and implementing large-scale inter-state economic projects, concluding trade operations, and intensifying trade and commercial outreach.

Email: <a href="mailto:SBK-IFPA@iofs.org.kz">SBK-IFPA@iofs.org.kz</a>
Website: <a href="http://www.iofs.org.kz">www.iofs.org.kz</a>
Twitter: @iofs_kz

Islamic Organization for Food Security

Adviser to DG of IOFS / Head of IOFS Project Office for International IFPA

I have been appointed by the Chairman of the Management Board and the CEO as the Chief Islamic Finance Officer at the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) with a view to lead on all business development initiatives globally related to Islamic Finance

Chief Islamic Finance Officer

Our Patron-in-Chief is the world-renowned Justice (R) Mufti Taqi Usmani who is the Chairman of many Shariah Boards including AAOIFI, Central Bank of Bahrain, State Bank of Pakistan, Meezan Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.

Along with Dr. Imran Usmani, I co-founded Usmani & Co, headquartered in Karachi, Pakistan. Dr. Imran serves as the President & CEO and I as the Executive Director of the company which provides innovative and customized Islamic financial solutions with cross-border and multi-disciplinary expertise.

We work very closely with our strategic partners which include Centre for Islamic Economics, Jamia Darul Uloom Karachi, IBA Centre for Excellence in Islamic Finance, Meezan Bank and International Institute of Islamic Bankers to provide our full suite of services.

Usmani & Co

Co-Founder & Executive Director

I have been appointed by the Governor of AIFC along with seven other leading industry experts to advise on policy, strategy, legal and regulatory matters for developing AIFC as a regional and global hub for Islamic finance based on English common law principles.

Advisory Board Member

Appointment by the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) onto its Standards review committee, tasked with reviewing the AAOIFI Shariah Standards in Arabic and English and reporting to the Shariah Board. Compliance with the AAOIFI Shariah Standards is a regulatory requirement in several jurisdictions. The AAOIFI Shariah Standards deal with compliance and governance matters relating to Islamic finance, including banking, Sukuk and capital markets, Takaful (Islamic insurance), hedging, contracts and financial rights.

Other committee members are Mufti Taqi Usmani, Sheikh Nizam Yaquby and Sheikh Esam Ishaq.

Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI)

Member of Shariah Standards Review Committee

Sheikh Bilal is the Vice-Chairman of the Advisory Panel of Mosaic to guide and support the International Leadership Programme. The Programme is a leadership development opportunity for people between the ages of 25 and 35. The Programme takes a cohort of 80 delegates from 16 different countries. The delegates participate in an intensive 2 week residential training Summit, where they receive skills training workshops, hear from speakers who are experts on various global issues and see examples of leadership in action. They are then matched with a business mentor who helps them to develop a personal action plan. The next Summit will be held in Spring 2015.

Mosaic, The Prince's Trust

Vice-Chairman, ILP Advisory Panel

Sheikh Bilal is one of the UK Catalysts appointed by The UK Government's Department for International Trade. He supports the promotion of the UK as the international business partner of choice. Sheikh Bilal was invited by the UK Government to promote UK excellence internationally and was chosen as an influential business leader, established in international markets, and supporter of the UK as a place to do business. UK Catalyst harnesses the expertise of powerful and experienced business leaders who are active internationally and motivated to build on the UK’s record as a springboard for company growth.

In the news:
<a href="http://www.gccbritainexpo.com/speaker/sheikh-bilal-khan/">http://www.gccbritainexpo.com/speaker/sheikh-bilal-khan/</a>

<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/world-location-news/leading-uk-islamic-finance-expert-visits-bishkek">https://www.gov.uk/government/world-location-news/leading-uk-islamic-finance-expert-visits-bishkek</a>

UK Government's Department for International Trade

UK Catalyst & Business Ambassador

Sheikh Bilal sits on the Takaful Panel with a remit to advise on global insurance markets and the legal and regulatory challenges.

The International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) was established in 1922 and now has over 221 members with approximately two-thirds in Europe and Americas and the remainder in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF)

Board Member

Sheikh Bilal is a key member of the award-winning global Islamic finance team, which services the increasingly varied and complex needs of clients for Islamic finance advice.

Linklaters is a global law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom and a member of the 'Magic Circle' of leading UK law firms. Our aim is to be the leading global law firm, building relationships that endure through business cycles to ensure that top companies and financial institutions instinctively turn to us for support on their most important and challenging assignments.

Linklaters

Solicitor of Senior Courts of England & Wales

Member of the core group at UK Islamic Finance Secretariat (UKIFS) which became integrated into TheCityUK from May 2011.

UKIFS brings together government and industry to jointly promote the UK as a global gateway for Islamic finance. The key objectives of UKIFS are (i) to co-ordinate and promote the development of Islamic finance in the UK and (ii) to act as the primary contact point for UK government bodies including UK Trade & Investment, HM Treasury and the regulator.

TheCityUK

Islamic Finance Education Council (IFEC) is a not-for-profit organisation with key objectives of increasing understanding and awareness of Islamic Finance in the UK.

Islamic Finance Education Council

Shariah Scholar & Executive Director

Lectured on part-time basis at the Leeds City College campus.

The subjects included Property Law & Trusts, Constitutional & Administrative Law and Law of Tort.

Leeds Metropolitan University

Law Lecturer

I drafted court documentation for defendant insurance companies as well as policyholders; advised clients and carried out advocacy at small claims hearings.

Cogent Solicitors

Legal Assistant

I provide private tuition to undergraduate and postgraduate Law and Arabic students .

First Tutors

Lecturer / Tutor for Law and Arabic

Lyons Davidson Solicitors

Leeds City Council

Sheikh Bilal served on the MEA Board and was also the lead on all Islamic Financial trade and investment projects between the UK and the GCC, Middle East and North Africa. He provided English law and Shari'ah law expertise as well as strategic advice relating to the 24 member countries and attended high level meetings with dignitaries from royal families, government ministers, ambassadors and influential businessmen. Sheikh Bilal co-led some of the trade missions and was heavily involved in the diplomatic engagements. His expertise and strategic relationships were instrumental in the MEA's success during this long tenure. MEA is the UK's leading business forum for promoting trade and investment with the Middle East and North Africa. Founded in 1961 by the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office and based in London, the MEA is an independent, not-for-profit organisation, representing around 350 organisations from all business and industry sectors.

The Middle East Association

Board Member and Head of Islamic Finance

I taught Urdu and Arabic at the Language Centre on a part-time basis.

Sheikh Bilal Khan الشيخ بلال خان