HC rules over anti-money laundering law

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The High Court Sunday asked the government and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to clarify why the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2009 shouldn't be declared "unconstitutional" and "illegal,." reports UNB
A division bench comprising Justice Mamnoon Rahman and Justice Syeda Afsar Jahan issued the rule upon the government and the anti-graft body to explain in 10 days.
Zahurul Islam, a lawyer, filed the public interest litigation writ petition, challenging the constitutional validity of the act.
In the writ, the petitioner stated that the current 9th parliament made the legislation as lawmakers can't enact the law under the provisions of articles 7(2) and 26(2) of the Constitution.
The enactment is feared to wrongly prosecute and punish people under the act.
"This is inconsistent with the fundamental rights as enshrined in the Constitution," the petitioner said.
The petitioner also said the purpose of article 35(1) of the Constitution is to make sure that no penal law is enacted with retrospective effect; rather every penal law must have a prospective time to come into operation.
Supporting his contention, the petitioner noted that the law was enacted by the parliament on February 24, 2009, but it came into operation on April 15 in 2008 with retrospective effect.
The anti-money laundering law was enacted by the parliament, although it had no authority to pass the money bill into a law, the petitioner said.
Barrister Fakhrul Islam appeared for the PIL petitioner.