The State Duma's Financial Market Committee has recommended the lower house of Russia’s parliament to adopt a bill on Islamic banking in the second reading. The Duma may consider it on July 18.

At the last regular sitting, the Committee members discussed the list of regions participating in the experiment. Basically, it is assumed that Islamic banking will be introduced in Dagestan, Chechnya, Bashkiria and Tatarstan. During the discussion, amendments concerning the extension of the experiment to other regions - in particular, Karelia, Crimea, Kaliningrad Region and Moscow - were rejected.

Subsequently, if the innovation justifies itself, the list of participating regions may be expanded, but the decision on this will be made by a specially created commission. Muslim Tatriev, a deputy from Ingushetia, tried to lobby for participation in the pilot. Anatoly Aksakov, the Committee chairman, promised that this would be possible in the future, but so far Ingushetia’s application has also been rejected.