Money-changers come under STR

---

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has asked the money-changers to comply with the new Anti-money Laundering Ordinance 2008 through the suspicious transaction reporting (STR), officials said.

"We've included the name of money changers in our list of reporting agencies in line with the existing ordinance," a BB senior official told the FE Monday.

He also said the central bank has added the names of insurance companies and money changers in its list of reporting agencies in line with the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) recommendations. The FATF has already approved 49 recommendations to curb money laundering and terror financing.

The FATF is an inter-governmental body whose job is to develop and promote policies, both national and international, to combat money laundering and check financing of terrorism.

The central bank has already issued a circular in this connection and asked the chief executive officers of money changers to follow the instruction for submitting the STR in line with the existing ordinance.

The money changers will have to preserve detailed information about their clients for a minimum period of five years on the basis of the existing ordinance, the central bank said in its circular.

Different financial institutions, including banks, non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs), insurance companies and money changers have been put under ambit of the ordinance as reporting agencies.

As per the ordinance, the money changers along with others financial institutions will have to inform the Anti-money Laundering Department of the central bank instantly if they detect any suspicious transaction.

The central bank will now be able to penalise banks, NBFIs, insurance companies and money changers anywhere between Tk 10,000 and Tk 0.5 million for failure to submit reports relating to money laundering in accordance of the ordinance.