TDS Desk:

The interim government is set to adopt a new national strategy for prevention of money laundering and illicit financial outflow from the country with incorporation of a few stringent provisions into it, officials said.

The government has already decided on preparing “National Strategy for Preventing Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism 2025-2028”.

Under the move, the financial institutions division (FID) is expected to constitute a high-powered committee comprising all stakeholders.

Three national strategies have already been prepared and approved by the National Coordination Committee on Anti-money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT).

The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) under the supervision of the FID prepared the three strategies.

Currently, the government has been implementing key components of the national strategy (2019-2021) to curb money laundering and terror financing, mainly across the country, the FID and BFIU sources said.

According to the BFIU, the national strategy paper (2019-21) on AML/CFT has 11 strategies and 137 action items.

Some 94 action items or 69 per cent (34 are time-bound and 60 are ongoing) have been implemented. The rest of 43 items of the strategy are being implemented.

However, the remaining action items have been included in the new strategy.

Major items under the proposed new strategy will be included. These are recovering siphoned money, avoiding the lengthy process in investigation into money laundering and terror financing, developing an effective judicial system, deterring all sorts of corruption, enforcing AML and CFT compliance and modernizing border controls, said a high official who was present at a meeting held last month with the finance adviser in the chair.

Currently, the action items under the national strategy (2019-2021) on preventing money laundering are being implemented, he added.

“For further implementation and effectiveness of AML and CFT measures, the strategy will prioritise actions focusing more on preventing proceeds of crime from getting integrated into the financial system or siphoned off through establishment of appropriate tools and mechanism such as quality financial investigation, proper confiscation mechanism restricting channels of illicit financial flows,” according to a BFIU source.

When contacted, a senior official of BFIU said the government initiated preparation of the national strategy paper (2025-28).

The earlier Sheikh Hasina government hardly made any progress in implementing key components of the national strategy (2015-2017) for curbing money laundering and terror financing mainly due to procedural complexities and dilly-dallying of the authorities concerned, a source concerned said.

According to the officials, the national strategy paper (2015-17) on AML/CFT had 138 action items.

The three-year national strategy for preventing money laundering and combating financing of terrorism 2015-2017 ended on December 31, 2017.

When asked, a senior official of the central bank who is involved in the process said a new strategy paper would be prepared for three years from 2025 to 2028. Some action items still remain unimplemented in the strategy for 2019-2021. These have to be included into the new strategy paper.

A number of action items remain unimplemented due to lack of required steps by the authorities concerned despite repeated reminders from Financial Institutions Division (FID) and BFIU, he said.

“The interim government is taking necessary steps to execute unimplemented action items time to time,” he added.

According to a top executive at the finance ministry, the interim government has expedited its move particularly to recover the money and assets stashed abroad allegedly during the Sheikh Hasina regime.

The authorities concerned have taken multiple initiatives, including holding high-stake meetings, as and when necessary, a document mentioned.

Between 2009 and 2023, a huge amount of money and assets were allegedly siphoned off from the country and recovery of the money and assets is one of the priorities of the interim government, according to it.

An 11-member inter-agency taskforce was formed on September 29 last year, with the Governor of Bangladesh Bank as its chairman, to ensure good governance in the financial sector, bring back money and assets laundered abroad, and prevent the recurrence of similar incidents in the future.

In the light of the recommendations of the taskforce, 11 joint investigation teams (JITs) have been formed to take further action after identifying the most important 11 priority cases.

Two high-profile meetings were held in March, April and May last on the recovery progress with the Chief Adviser in the chair.

Most recently, the head of interim government visited the UK with an agenda to recover the money laundered there.