Six more agencies added to anti-money laundering act
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Siddique Islam
Six more organisations including stock traders have been brought under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) as reporting agencies, officials said Monday.
The agencies, which are newly included, are stock dealers and stock brokers, portfolios managers and merchant bankers, securities custodian, asset managers, non-profit organisations and non-government organisations.
The central bank of Bangladesh issued a circular in this connection Monday and asked chief executives and managing directors of the organisations including commercial banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) to maintain the instructions properly.
Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) president Shakil Rizvi said the BB's new circular will not have any impact on the share market because general investors are not included in the instruction.
"The central bank included stock traders as reporting agencies under the AMLA and it would not create any panic in the market," the DSE chief told the FE.
"We've brought the organisations under the AMLA as reporting agencies in line with the decisions of National Coordination Committee (NCC) on Anti-money Laundering, headed by Finance Minister AMA Muhith," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE.
He also said the committee has taken the latest move to upgrade the country's Anti-money Laundering Act, 2009 to the international standard.
Currently, commercial banks, non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs), insurance companies and money changers have to report to the central bank on any suspicious transaction.
Under the existing AMLA, the reporting agencies 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 the agencies anywhere between Tk 10,000 and Tk 0.5 million for failure to submit reports related to money laundering, according to the Act.
Besides, financing terrorist activities, food adulteration, environment pollution, sexual exploitation, insider trading and market manipulation and organised crimes have been treated as offences under the AMLA.
Regarding inclusion of share traders, the BB official said the country's whole financial sector including capital market would be brought under the AMLA to check illegal fund transfer.
"The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Money Laundering has recommended including the share market as reporting agency to make the country's AMLA global standard," the central bank official said, adding that it's also a political commitment of the government to implement the FATF recommendations.
The FATF has already approved 49 recommendations to curb money laundering.
The FATF is an inter-governmental body whose purpose is the development and promotion of policies, both national and international, to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism.
The BB official also said a large amount of money is being transacted in the capital market. "But neither the central bank nor the National Board of Revenue is aware of the volume of such transactions and the sources of the money transacted in the share market due to the lack of legal system," he added.
Besides, donors and international watchdog organisations have expressed their concern over the possible suspicious transaction made in the capital market, he noted.
Six more organisations including stock traders have been brought under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) as reporting agencies, officials said Monday.
The agencies, which are newly included, are stock dealers and stock brokers, portfolios managers and merchant bankers, securities custodian, asset managers, non-profit organisations and non-government organisations.
The central bank of Bangladesh issued a circular in this connection Monday and asked chief executives and managing directors of the organisations including commercial banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) to maintain the instructions properly.
Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) president Shakil Rizvi said the BB's new circular will not have any impact on the share market because general investors are not included in the instruction.
"The central bank included stock traders as reporting agencies under the AMLA and it would not create any panic in the market," the DSE chief told the FE.
"We've brought the organisations under the AMLA as reporting agencies in line with the decisions of National Coordination Committee (NCC) on Anti-money Laundering, headed by Finance Minister AMA Muhith," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE.
He also said the committee has taken the latest move to upgrade the country's Anti-money Laundering Act, 2009 to the international standard.
Currently, commercial banks, non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs), insurance companies and money changers have to report to the central bank on any suspicious transaction.
Under the existing AMLA, the reporting agencies 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 the agencies anywhere between Tk 10,000 and Tk 0.5 million for failure to submit reports related to money laundering, according to the Act.
Besides, financing terrorist activities, food adulteration, environment pollution, sexual exploitation, insider trading and market manipulation and organised crimes have been treated as offences under the AMLA.
Regarding inclusion of share traders, the BB official said the country's whole financial sector including capital market would be brought under the AMLA to check illegal fund transfer.
"The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Money Laundering has recommended including the share market as reporting agency to make the country's AMLA global standard," the central bank official said, adding that it's also a political commitment of the government to implement the FATF recommendations.
The FATF has already approved 49 recommendations to curb money laundering.
The FATF is an inter-governmental body whose purpose is the development and promotion of policies, both national and international, to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism.
The BB official also said a large amount of money is being transacted in the capital market. "But neither the central bank nor the National Board of Revenue is aware of the volume of such transactions and the sources of the money transacted in the share market due to the lack of legal system," he added.
Besides, donors and international watchdog organisations have expressed their concern over the possible suspicious transaction made in the capital market, he noted.