In the murky world of sovereign wealth funds, those in the Middle East are among the world’s most opaque. However, with investments in international firms on the up, and incidences of fraud more likely in times of crisis, there’s likely to be opportunities for compliance and governance specialists going forward.

The Linaburg-Maduell Transparency Index (below), developed by the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, shows that most Middle Eastern SWFs rank in the bottom half when it comes to good governance.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority – the region’s biggest SWF with assets under management of over $600bn – is languishing in the bottom half of the transparency index.

"To say they were less than transparent would be an understatement," says Professor Chris Pierce, CEO of Global Governance Services and author of Corporate Governance in the Middle East and North Africa. "Their motto is ‘it’s our money, and we can do what we like with it’, corporate governance just hasn’t been on the agenda."

One area they are looking to improve on, though, is internal control. Pierce says they’re taking their role as stewards of the state’s money very seriously and therefore want to mitigate against any potential fraud. Compliance and internal regulation roles are becoming more common.

"But the main opportunity is when they want to improve on the board of a company they’re investing in, and look to appoint their own independent director," says Pierce. "You’ve got to be very well connected, a fluent Arabic speaker and very politically wily to fit into the category of being ‘independent’. These are rare individuals and are fixing their own price in terms of salaries."

These roles usually pay around $66k, often with generous share options thrown in, and the right candidate can hold multiple positions.