BFIU suspends 5005 MFS agents for illicit transactions

Financial intelligence has booked at least 5005 MFS agents for involvement in illicit financial transactions through hundi, gaming and betting, forex trading, and crypto deals amid surge in decentralised finance, sources said.
In recent years, the rise of digital technology has led to the proliferation of various illicit financial activities, posing a significant challenge to economies around the world.
Bangladesh, recognising the urgency of dealing with this phenomenon, has taken tough steps to combat these trans-border threats to mainstream finance.
At the forefront of this battle, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) scaled up its drive during the fiscal year 2022-23 and suspended these agents engaged in mobile financial services.
As part of the fight, BFIU took stringent actions against 5,766 MFS agents and 9 MFS distributors during the FY23, and the combat continued amid a spurt in financial misdealing.
Their details have been forwarded to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for further action, as part of the agency's commitment to holding financial wrongdoers to account, officials concerned said.
The BFIU is the central agency to fight against money laundering (ML), terrorist financing (TF) and financing of proliferation (PF) of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The organisation blocked 664 websites, 148 apps, and 401 social- media pages associated with illegal gaming/betting activities, foreign-exchange and cryptocurrency transactions.
The BFIU suspended transactions from 16525 MFS accounts suspected to be involved in hundi activities, according to the organisation data.
A total of 328 of these accounts have been regularised, leading to the legal remittance of Tk 12.6 million during the period under review, the BFIU data showed.
The collaborative efforts have resulted in the arrest of 43 individuals in connection with 15 cases related to illegal hundi, gaming, betting, and cryptocurrency dealings, according to the BFIU.
Talking to the FE correspondent, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) counsel Khurshid Alam Khan said the BFIU is responsible for analysing suspicious transaction/activity reports (STRs/SARs), cash transaction reports (CTRs) and information related to money laundering ( ML), terrorist financing (TF) and proliferation financing (PF) received from reporting organisations (ROs) and other sources.
"Initiatives which have been taken to fight hundi, illegal gaming and betting, forex trading, and cryptocurrency trading are positive and encouraging," he says.
However, the organisation should step up its efforts further as illicit financial acts have increased in recent times, suggests the Supreme Court lawyer, who stands for the anti-graft agency. The lawyer stresses bolstering the BFIU with necessary manpower, capacity building, and expertise, citing a spurt in the incidence of capital flight.

[email protected]