FE Report
Speakers at a programme on Saturday laid emphasis on increased inter-agency collaboration for effective investigation and prevention of money laundering.
They also suggested improving capacity of the authorities concerned regarding investigation into technology-based financial crimes.
They were addressing a seminar titled "20 Years of BFIU in Preventing Money Laundering and Terror Financing in Bangladesh" organised by the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) at International Convention City, Bashundhara (ICCB) in the city's Kuril.
BFIU officials informed at the event that they had confiscated around Tk8.67 billion in nine money laundering cases in between July 2021 and April 2022.
Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Fazle Kabir addressed the event as the chief guest while Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB) Chairman Selim RF Hussain and Financial Instituitions Division Secretary Sheikh Mohammad Salim Ullah spoke as special guests at the programme presided over by Head of BFIU Md Masud Biswas.
Besides, BFIU additional director Kamal Hossain made a presentation on BFIU's activities while Association of Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officers of Banks in Bangladesh (AACOBB) Chairman Mohammad Ziaul Hasan Molla made another presentation on AACOBB activities.
In his speech, the BB governor urged the banks to be more compliant in terms of following rules and regulations to prevent money laundering because cost of non-compliance is heavier than being compliant.
Referring to recent flood situation, he requested the bankers not to put pressure on clients in the flood-affected areas to repay loans, instead help them with refinancing.
He also suggested that BFIU should consider the proposal of including cyber crime and gambling as predicate offense under the Money Laundering Act.
In the presentation, Mr Kamal said in last six financial years, BFIU has confiscated total Tk13.30 billion in a total of 63 money laundering cases.
In the first 10 months of the current fiscal, the intelligence unit under the central bank confiscated around Tk8.67 billion in nine cases.
Meanwhile, ABB Chairman Mr Hussain said use of technology should be increased to make the country's banking industry more secure from digital fraud and cyber attacks.
In an open discussion session, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Director General (Money Laundering) Mahmudul Hossain Khan said the ACC and BFIU signed a MoU in Octobor, 2016 to exchange information about money laundering-related issues.
However, he suggested increasing collaboration between the two state agencies for effective investigation against money launderers.
Special Superintendent of CID (Financial Crime Unit) Humayun Kabir urged the BFIU to simplify the process of MLAR (Mutual Legal Assistance Request) so that investigations against money launderers can be done swiftly.
He also suggested including gambling and cyber crimes as predicate offenses in the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012 as such crimes are often connected to money laundering.
Besides, he mentioned that CID has carried out investigation against 50 e-commerce platforms in shortest possible time with the help of BFIU to file money laundering cases against nine companies.
Meanwhile, City Bank managing director and CEO Mashrur Arefin stressed the need for increasing surveillance on e-commerce and cross-border online transactions to spot potential money laundering.
Agrani Bank managing director Mohammad Shams-Ul Islam, HSBC CEO Mahbubur Rahman and EXIM Bank managing director and CEO Mohammed Haider Ali Miah, among others, also spoke at the programme.
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