Law ministry to decide next course of action

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Nazmul Ahsan
The law ministry has recently been requested to suggest the best possible way to bring back funds believed to have been laundered during the rule of the BNP-led four-party alliance government, a high official said.
Both the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and Bangladesh Bank (BB) will proceed as per recommendations of the Ministry of Law and Parliamentary Affairs, the official added.
The MoF asked the law ministry last week to review the measures undertaken by the last caretaker government for getting back the laundered money and charting out new strategies, sources said.
Besides, the law ministry will suggest whether any changes are required to update the relevant laws of the country to make the move result-oriented, they added.
"The finance minister wants the entire process to be reviewed by law ministry and recommend the government for the next course of action to avert any possible legal loopholes as the government is now serious about bringing back the laundered money and putting the persons responsible on the dock" a top MoF official said.
"A meeting between the finance minister and the law minister is likely to be held soon to expedite the move," he hinted.
The MoF reconstituted the Asset Repatriation Committee last month with a view to making renewed efforts for repatriation of the funds in question.
The ministry has included representatives from the Banking and Finance Division, MoF, the Bangladesh Police, the Anti-corruption Commission and the office of the Attorney General to make the committee more effective, sources said.
Besides, the MoF asked the BB to make the current Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Anti-Terror Financing Act more stringent so that repatriation process sees no major hurdles as per the suggestion of Egmont Group, an international organisation engaged in addressing resolving such issues, particularly money laundering.
Meanwhile, the BB has communicated to Egmont Group for its membership to facilitate the process of bringing back the laundered money, it is learnt.
Earlier, the Egmont rejected the BB plea as the international Financial Intelligence Authority views that the country's Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Anti-Terror Financing Act are not of international standard, sources said.
Officials said, after the revision and recommendations of law ministry, a holistic move to bring back the laundered money might be taken as the government wants to make the future steps in this regard carefully.