The government has 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, officials said.
The approval was given at a meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Terrorist Financing (CFT), held at Bangladesh Secretariat on Thursday with Finance Minister AMA Muhith in the chair.
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.
The government's latest move came against the backdrop of rising trend in illicit money outflows from Bangladesh, as reported by Global Financial Integrity (GFI). 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.
"We've taken the strategy to expedite our efforts to curb money laundering and terrorism financing," a government senior official told the FE after the meeting.
He also said 20 agencies, including Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BIFU) of Bangladesh Bank (BB), National Board of Revenue (NBR), Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), and Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Bangladesh Police, have been assigned to implement the strategy.
The strategy consists of eleven specific strategic objectives along with expected outcomes, challenges, actions needed, timeframe, budget, supporting legal instruments and responsible agencies to implement the strategies.
Under the strategy, the government will update national money laundering and terror financing risk assessment regularly by introducing risk-based approach of monitoring and supervision of all reporting organisations.
The implementing agencies will identify corruption-induced money laundering, considering corruption as a high risk.
As per the strategy, border control mechanism will be modernised to prevent smuggling of gold and drugs, human-trafficking and other organised trans-national crimes as well as their financing.
The agencies will take measures to discourage illicit fund transfer by returning the assets transferred abroad and/or recovering the evaded tax.
"The strategy will help develop a transparent, accountable and inclusive financial system," the official noted.
In fighting against money laundering (ML), terrorist financing (TF) and proliferation financing (PF) the strategy focuses on root causes of predicate offence, sources of proceeds of crimes, and methods and trends of profitable use of those proceeds by duly considering rule of law and human rights, he added.
Earlier, a committee was formed to formulate the strategy paper under the leadership of BB Deputy Governor and BFIU Head Abu Hena Mohd Razee Hassan. It also consists of representatives from Bank and Financial Institution Division under the ministry of finance, Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division under the ministry of law, justice and parliamentary affairs, the ministry of home affairs, the ministry of foreign affairs, NBR, ACC and BIFU.
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Nat\\\'l strategy to curb illicit financial flow approved
Siddique Islam | Published: April 03, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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