NBFIs to submit online reports to BB on suspicious transactions

Siddique Islam | Published: August 11, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

The central bank is set to bring the country's non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) under its digital connectivity by the end of this month to help check money laundering, officials said.
The Bangladesh Bank (BB) will sit with the officials of NBFIs on August 18 to discuss the possible ways of sending the suspicious transaction report (STR) instantly using the online facility.
"We'll start giving the NBFIs the access to the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) online facility to make available the STR," a senior BB official told the FE Sunday.
He also said the process is expected to be completed by the end of this month.
"We'll allow the NBFIs to submit such report to the central bank using both manual and online systems from first two to three months," the central banker noted.
The central bank earlier introduced the online system through installing 'goAML' software for collection of both STR and cash transaction report (CTR) from the commercial banks and the financial institutions.
The goAML is the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)'s standard software system available for financial intelligence units to check terror financing and money laundering.
The commercial banks are now submitting their both STR and CTR to the central bank through using the digital connectivity.
The central bank is now exchanging information relating to money laundering with 19 agencies including the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Criminal Investigation Department of police.
"We're now able to detect incidents of money laundering and terror financing promptly by using such latest information and communications technology," another BB official said.
The central bank is empowered to impose higher penalty on both the banks and NBFIs in case of their failure in submitting reports related to money laundering.
"The banks and the NBFIs will have to inform the BFIU instantly, if they detect any suspicious transaction," the central banker noted.
The BB is empowered to penalise the banks and the NBFIs between Tk 50,000 and Tk 2.5 million, instead of the previous range between Tk 10,000 and Tk 0.5 million, for their failure in submitting reports related to money laundering, according to the provision of the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012.
The commercial banks have been asked to continue submitting STR besides CTR, as the two reports are completely different.
Under the existing provision, the banks will have to submit CTR on both withdrawal and deposit within the third week of the next month.
The commercial banks have to report if an amount of Tk 1.0 million and above is deposited or withdrawn in cash from a particular account in a single working day.