Sultan Choudhury

Sultan Ahmed Choudhury is an English banker, chartered accountant and was the chief executive officer of Al Rayan Bank (formerly Islamic Bank of Britain).

Early life In 1994, Choudhury graduated with a BA (Hons) in Economics and Econometrics from the University of Nottingham. His interest in Islamic finance began at this time.

After qualifying as a chartered accountant, his desire to enter the field of Islamic finance became clear when he went on Hajj (the largest Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia) in 2002.

Choudhury is a member of various Community and Government advisory groups and has contributed to the development of Islamic Financial Services in the United Kingdom. a British charity which distributes zakat to those living in poverty as well as granting funding to community organisations and initiatives.

As of 2019, Choudhury has taken on a number of Board positions, including Advisor at Precept Finance, a sharia-compliant finance brokerage service. Choudhury is also the Executive Chairman of Waqfinity, an endowment trust focussed on charitable giving.

In 2019, The Times published an article titled "Female Circumcision is like clipping a nail, claimed speaker". The article featured a photo of Choudhury beside the headline, leading some readers to incorrectly infer that Choudhury had made the comment. Choudhury lodged a complaint with the Independent Press Standards Organisation and sued The Times for libel. In 2020, The Times issued an apology, amended its article and agreed to pay Choudhury damages and legal costs.

Honours Choudhury was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to the UK market for Islamic finance.