Anisul Islam Noor :
A team of global money laundering watchdog will pay a two-day visit to Bangladesh from October 11 to evaluate functional capacities for tackling the recent terrorist threats and poor records in containing unabated money laundering, official concerned Finance Ministry said.
The team comprises experts of Asia-Pacific Group (APG) on money laundering, the official said.
The forthcoming evaluation by the APG could place Bangladesh further in the ‘grey list’ of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) after recent official warnings issued by a number of western countries that militants might attack their citizens and interests in Bangladesh.
The APG team cancelled a number of meetings, scheduled earlier, with revenue board, police department and anti-corruption commission and with a number of private sector establishments during their stay. The team members would now hold meetings only in finance ministry and BB as they feel insecure amid perceived terrorist threats, sources said.
Some official of BB believe that the evaluation was a regular matter. They admitted the recent killing of an Italian aid worker and Japanese citizen might be a cause for APG to underestimate Bangladesh’s
efforts to combat terrorist networks and money laundering.
‘We have progressed a lot in enacting adequate rules and regulations on combating terrorist financing and money laundering as proposed by FATF and APG,’ said Abu Hena Mohammad Raji Hasan, BB Eputy Governor.
Recent spate of travel warnings by some western countries, killing of Italian and Japanese citizens, according to Raji Hasan, could not outright degrade Bangladesh as far as the list of FATF is concerned.
Bangladesh in 2014 got out of the grey list, the list of countries having bad records on money laundering, on which the country was placed in 2008 by FATF. In October 2010, the task force recommended 28 time-bound actions Bangladesh needed to bring its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures to international standards.
The APG is an affiliate body of the FATF and mainly maintains the role of observer in the Asia and Pacific region. Recently, a cabinet meeting approved amendment of anti-money laundering act-2012, empowering police department and national board of revenue with money laundering investigation authorities, along with anti-corruption commission.
The FATF and APG have long been pressing the government to accelerate investigations of money laundering cases and improving ACC’s poor capacity to handle the issue promptly and efficiently.
A team of global money laundering watchdog will pay a two-day visit to Bangladesh from October 11 to evaluate functional capacities for tackling the recent terrorist threats and poor records in containing unabated money laundering, official concerned Finance Ministry said.
The team comprises experts of Asia-Pacific Group (APG) on money laundering, the official said.
The forthcoming evaluation by the APG could place Bangladesh further in the ‘grey list’ of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) after recent official warnings issued by a number of western countries that militants might attack their citizens and interests in Bangladesh.
The APG team cancelled a number of meetings, scheduled earlier, with revenue board, police department and anti-corruption commission and with a number of private sector establishments during their stay. The team members would now hold meetings only in finance ministry and BB as they feel insecure amid perceived terrorist threats, sources said.
Some official of BB believe that the evaluation was a regular matter. They admitted the recent killing of an Italian aid worker and Japanese citizen might be a cause for APG to underestimate Bangladesh’s
efforts to combat terrorist networks and money laundering.
‘We have progressed a lot in enacting adequate rules and regulations on combating terrorist financing and money laundering as proposed by FATF and APG,’ said Abu Hena Mohammad Raji Hasan, BB Eputy Governor.
Recent spate of travel warnings by some western countries, killing of Italian and Japanese citizens, according to Raji Hasan, could not outright degrade Bangladesh as far as the list of FATF is concerned.
Bangladesh in 2014 got out of the grey list, the list of countries having bad records on money laundering, on which the country was placed in 2008 by FATF. In October 2010, the task force recommended 28 time-bound actions Bangladesh needed to bring its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures to international standards.
The APG is an affiliate body of the FATF and mainly maintains the role of observer in the Asia and Pacific region. Recently, a cabinet meeting approved amendment of anti-money laundering act-2012, empowering police department and national board of revenue with money laundering investigation authorities, along with anti-corruption commission.
The FATF and APG have long been pressing the government to accelerate investigations of money laundering cases and improving ACC’s poor capacity to handle the issue promptly and efficiently.
