Anti-Money Laundering Steps
Realtors, lawyers, accountants also under BB watch
The Bangladesh Bank has asked major non-financial organisations and professional bodies to keep their clients’ transaction records in the form of ‘Know Your Client’ in a bid to check money laundering and terrorist financing. The major non-financial organisations and professional bodies are Institute of Chartered Accountants Bangladesh, Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh, Jewellers and other related associations, Bangladesh Bar Council and lawyer associations, and Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms.
The BB has also included Notary lawyers and other lawyers and accountants who are not members of organisations under its anti-laundering reporting system.
To this end, the BB issued a guideline on prevention of money laundering and combating financing of terrorism to chief executives of the non-financial organisations and other professional concerned asking them to keep the KYC of their clients on mandatory basis.
The scheduled banks and non-bank financial institutions are now maintaining KYC of their clients.
The non-financial organisations and professional concerned will have to preserve their clients’ information in the form of the KYC.
The KYC will maintain personal and transaction-related data of the clients.
The non-financial organisations and professional concerned will have to provide data to the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, a BB department, when it (BFIU) will seek information about a client.
Besides, the non-financial organisations and professional concerned will also have to inform the BB about any suspected transaction by their clients.
A BB official told New Age that the BB prepared the guideline in accordance with the Anti-money Laundering Prevention Act-2012 and to comply with the international standards in fighting corruption and money laundering.
According to the anti-money laundering act, the major non-financial organisations and the professionals concerned have been brought under the reporting agency to provide anti-money laundering related documents to the BB.
The BB official said that the KYC and other criteria to be introduced for non-financial institutions would almost be similar in nature and practice to those of the banks, financial institutions and brokerage houses.
Only suspicious transactions perceived to be made through corruption, tax evasion or money laundering have come under the purview of the latest government move, largely aimed at pulling out the country from the current ‘grey list’ of the Financial Action Task Force — a Paris-based multilateral watchdog body that oversees terrorist financing and money laundering in the global perspective, the BB official said.
The BB guideline has set different procedures for non-financial organisations to tackle money laundering.
According to the BB guideline, the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms, regulator of all sorts of incorporated businesses, is required to play a very important role in preventing money laundering and combating financing of terrorism.
The RJSC has to obtain and record basic information (company name, date of incorporation, legal form or status, addresses, list of directors etc.) related to formation of legal entities (different forms of companies) and legal arrangements (eg. trust and similar arrangements).
The RJSC also needs to keep the beneficial ownership (ownership and control structure and regulating persons i.e. majority shareholders or influencing member on decision making) information related legal entities or legal arrangements.
The RJSC should ensure that the recorded basic and beneficial ownership information are accurate and up to date and accessible by competent authorities.
The RJSC should incorporate a condition that they may cancel licence if any financial institution and non-financial organisation fails to comply with the anti-money laundering laws.
The Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh is one of the self regulatory organisation regulating the real estate sector.
The BB guideline said the REHAB may play vital role in creating bridge between the BFIU and the real estate developers.
The REHAB may take necessary initiatives to cover all real estate developers as its members and ensure anti-money laundering compliance.
The REHAB will give directives to all the agencies to comply with anti-money laundering laws strictly.
The REHAB will check the compliance status of the members and impose penalty for lapses.
It will collect suspected transaction reports from its members and forward those to the BFIU, the BB guideline said.
-With New Age input
