Creating a Niche and Driving a Synergistic Research Agenda in Islamic Financial Criminology

Islamic Financial Criminology (IFC) is a pioneering niche research agenda created by the Accounting Research Institute (ARI) in 2010 when it was accorded the Higher Institutions’ Centre of Excellence (HICoE) status by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia. The chosen niche research in IFC is in tandem with Malaysia’s vision to become a Global Islamic Finance Hub by 2020. IFC as a concept encompasses two main domains namely Islamic Finance and Financial Criminology. ARI believes that to develop a sustainable Islamic Finance Hub, Malaysia must continue introducing new Islamic finance products as well as be mindful of the potential risks of financial leakages that could retard the growth of the Islamic Finance sector. When developing a sustainable Global Islamic Finance Hub, there are various strategic aspects that must be considered.