An online connectivity would be established between the Bangladesh Finance Intelligence Unit of Bangladesh Bank, the Anti-Corruption Commission, home ministry, finance division and National Board of Revenue to deal with money laundering and terror financing.
A committee is working on the establishment of the connectivity for sharing money laundering and terror financing related data in coordination of the Bangladesh financial intelligence unit, an Anti-Corruption Commission official said.
The committee, formed on May 12, already held two meetings, committee members said.
They said that the committee identified mobile banking, Multi-Level Marketing and courier service as the easy ways for laundering money.
They said that software was already developed for the establishment of the connectivity and all banks would also come under the connectivity with the finance intelligence unit.
The connectivity has already been established with seven banks on an experimental basis and all banks would go online by October, one of the members said, adding that all the banks would come under the connectivity by January 2014.
Money Laundering Prevention Taskforce, meanwhile, decided to arrange a workshop on the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012 and the Anti-Terrorism Act 2009, a source in the taskforce said.
It also recommended inclusion of money laundering related matters in the financial literacy programme, the source said.
It asked the Bangladesh Bank to keep watch on mobile banking to see whether money laundering was taking place.
According to the bank’s payment system department, the central bank has given licenses to 23 banks to operate mobile
banking.
On January 28, 2012, the Bangladesh Bank formed the Bangladesh financial intelligence unit to fight against money laundering and establish more discipline and transparency in the financial sector.
-With New Age input
