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The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is continuing its efforts to put an end to some of the sharper practices that have plagued the country’s retail foreign exchange market. On January 15, the regulator announced it had charged James Ossie of Atlanta, Georgia, and his company, CRE Capital Corporation (CRE) of Alpharetta, Georgia, with operating a Ponzi scheme. The CFTC claims that the scam sucked in more than 100 apparent clients and involved about $25 million. Neither Ossie nor CRE had ever been registered with the CFTC.

Winner: HSBC Amanah

Winner: Khazanah’s $550 million exchangeable sukuk Malaysian state-investment company Khazanah had already impressed the market with its first groundbreaking sukuk transaction in 2006. In March 2008, its third such deal pushed the boundaries of the Islamic debt capital market even further with a $550 million exchangeable sukuk that featured a number of innovations.

Winner: Kuwait Finance House

Winner: Orimix Concrete Products "It is important not to fall in love with the company and to look at a serious offer when it comes, even though it may not have met your time horizons," says Aamir Khan, managing director of global private equity at Bahraini investment bank Unicorn.

Old-style capitalism is in disrepute. Fans of Islamic finance say it is a model whose ethics give it more sustainability. But optimists will be disappointed to see how far it is part of the global bust. Dominic O’Neill reports.

Winner: BNP Paribas Najmah

Winner: Calyon Calyon’s Islamic banking team made big strides over the past year. The French bank was involved in several eye-catching deals, including financing for the Ma’aden Phosphate Company’s $5.6 billion development in Saudi Arabia.

Winner: CIMB Islamic

Winner: Kuwait Finance House

Winner: Clifford Chance

Winner: Ras Laffan power and water project