ISLAMIC ESTATE ADMINISTRATION IN THE DIGITAL AGE: THE NEED FOR AN INTEGRITY-BASED GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK FOR CRYPTO ASSETS IN MALAYSIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35631/IJLGC.1145053Keywords:
Crypto Assets, Digital Inheritance, Digital Wealth, Islamic Estate Administration, Integrity Governance, Shariah GovernanceAbstract
The emergence of crypto assets as form of digital wealth challenges conventional estate administration by introducing decentralized technologies and cryptographic assess mechanisms that complicate ownership verification, custodial access, fiduciary accountability, and beneficiary protection after death. This conceptual paper examines the need for integrity-based governance framework for Islamic estate administration of crypto assets in Malaysia. Moving beyond the debates on the Shariah status of crypto assets as mal (wealth), this study explores how digital wealth can be administered transparently, securely, and responsibly after the owner’s death. This study adopted socio-legal research, and the finding identified five interrelated governance challenges; assets identification and ownership verification; private key management; fiduciary accountability and asset mismanagement; custodial responsibility and Digital Assets Exchange governance; and regulatory and institutional fragmentation. In response, the study proposes conceptual integrity-based governance framework comprised of six interconnected dimensions: (i) shariah governance; (ii) legal and regulatory governance; (iii) fiduciary accountability; (iv) custodial integrity and access management; (v) digital security and cyber governance and (vi) beneficiary protection and estate distribution. This study contributes a conceptual structure that extends the discourse beyond the Shariah recognition of crypto assets as mal towards the integrity-based governance of shariah-recognized digital wealth after death. Future study is suggested to validate this conceptual framework.
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