Two official committees have suggested reforms of the legal framework and coordinated efforts on the part of all relevant agencies to help stop illicit fund flows.
They, however, found the assigned job a challenging one.
The observation was made at national money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) risk assessment, general known as NRA report for 2014-15, prepared jointly by a core committee and a working committee.
The core committee was formed comprising officials of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) and Criminal Investigation Department (CID), while the working committee was constituted of representatives of 25 government agencies.
"The main challenge for Bangladesh is to stop illicit flow of funds abroad," the NRA report said.
Most of the funds flow to the developed countries, and that makes the job of law-enforcing agencies (LEA) more difficult, it added.
The government agencies' observations came against the backdrop of rising trend in illicit money outflows from Bangladesh, as reported by Global Financial Integrity (GFI).
The Washington-based organisation was formed in 2006 to analyse unrecorded money disappearing out of the developing countries.
The latest findings of GFI show that 'illicit financial outflows' from Bangladesh averaged, on an annual basis, at $1.3 billion between 2003 and 2012.
"The government has already sent a section of the report to Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF). A team of the organisation is scheduled to arrive in the capital on October 11 for mutual evaluation," a senior official told the FE on Wednesday.
During the evaluation, the team will assess the country's money laundering and terrorist financing compliance level against international standard, he added.
The eight-member evaluation team, comprising experts of Asia Pacific Group (APG) on money laundering, will meet representatives and officials of more than 50 organisations during their 12-day visit in Bangladesh.
APG, a regional anti-money laundering body, consists of 41 members, including Bangladesh and a number of international and regional observers, like - United Nations, International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
It is closely affiliated with FATF, an inter-governmental body, whose job is to develop and promote policies, both national and international, to combat money laundering and check financing of terrorism. FATF has approved 40 recommendations in this regard.
The official also said the government has already approved a strategy to curb illicit financial flows by preventing creation of black money, addressing trade-based money laundering, and controlling domestic and cross-border tax evasion.
The objective of National Strategy for Preventing Money Laundering and Combating Financial Terrorism for the years 2015-17 is to set a comprehensive medium-term goal and action agenda in strengthening capacity of all stakeholders in implementing provisions of the relevant UN conventions.
Under the strategy, the government has adopted 14-point action agenda, including formulating policy to verify commodity prices at the time of opening letter of credit (LC) by any commercial bank, and encouraging banks to establish more drawing arrangements aboard to facilitate inward remittance through formal channel for curbing illicit fund outflow.
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