The September following his graduation, Askar Mukash joined the "Al Hilal” Islamic Bank” JSC (joint-stock company- website: www.alhilalbank.kz), seated in Kazakhstan, as the Head of their Legal and Compliance Department. The bank, a subsidiary of Al Hilal Bank, United Arab Emirates, is Kazakhstan’s first modern Islamic bank, providing innovative Sharia-compliant products for Kazakhstan and other CIS countries. The Department, under the leadership of Askar, besides providing full legal support for the business and operational activities of the Bank, has been involved in initiatives aimed at improving the regulatory framework of Kazakhstan. In 2020, due to regulatory requirements and internal decisions, the Legal and Compliance Department was divided into a Compliance Department and a Legal Department, and Askar continued as the Chief Compliance Officer and as the Head of the Compliance Department.
Askar found his year at CEU challenging, intensive, and very fruitful. He speaks of all of his professors in glowing terms. He wrote his thesis on syndicated loans and finance, and expresses particular thanks to Prof. Tibor Tajti for helping with his thesis by patiently sharing his time and knowledge in the form of answering questions and providing suggestions. He is certain that his experience at (and his qualification from) CEU strongly influenced his bank’s decision to take him on as the Head of their Legal and Compliance Department. He advises current students to engage actively with the curriculum, asking questions and using the opportunities CEU provides to absorb all they are taught. He says the most important lesson he learned from CEU was that students must challenge themselves to improve themselves.