APG expresses concerns over banking, stock market looting and capital flight during Hasina regime

The Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) has expressed concern over irregularities, corruption, financial looting and the siphoning of money abroad from Bangladesh's banking and capital markets during the Awami League government's tenure.

The APG delegation warned that these incidents could have a negative impact on Bangladesh in its upcoming mutual evaluation.

At the same time, the delegation welcomed the current government's initiatives to reform the financial sector and recover laundered assets, and recommended that these efforts continue.

An APG delegation visited Dhaka for three days from August 11 to 13 to review Bangladesh's preparations for its upcoming mutual evaluation. During the visit, the delegation held meetings with various government ministries, regulatory bodies, law enforcement agencies, financial intelligence authorities, policymakers and representatives of the private sector.

The information was disclosed in a Bangladesh Bank press release yesterday.

Bangladesh's finance minister, the governor of Bangladesh Bank, representatives of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), various regulatory and law enforcement agencies, and private-sector representatives attended meetings with the APG delegation.

As part of the visit, a meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC), chaired by the finance minister, was held. At the meeting, the government reaffirmed its strong political commitment to preventing money laundering and terrorist financing. It also pledged to further strengthen the country's anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) framework and measures to prevent the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (CPF).

Representatives of relevant government agencies presented updates on preparations for the mutual evaluation at the NCC meeting. A working committee meeting, chaired by the secretary of the Financial Institutions Division, also discussed the practical aspects of Bangladesh's preparations, priority areas, institutional responsibilities and next steps.

During the three-day programme, the APG delegation held several meetings on various "immediate outcomes". Officials from the BFIU, Bangladesh Bank, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA), Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA), Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Criminal Investigation Department (CID), National Board of Revenue (NBR), Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC), as well as other agencies and law enforcement bodies, took part in the meetings.

The discussions covered observations and recommendations from Bangladesh's previous mutual evaluation, progress on measures taken since then, and priority actions required ahead of the upcoming assessment.

The APG delegation also held separate meetings with representatives of the private sector, including banks, insurance companies, capital market intermediaries, NGOs, NPOs and other reporting entities.

At the conclusion of the programme, the Bangladesh Bank governor, head of the BFIU, and senior officials from Bangladesh Bank and the BFIU reaffirmed Bangladesh's commitment to the mutual evaluation process.

A mutual evaluation is a process for assessing a country's overall capacity and compliance with international standards for preventing money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Bangladesh's next mutual evaluation is scheduled to be conducted by the APG during the 2027-28 cycle. The country previously underwent mutual evaluations in 2002, 2009 and 2016.

Following the 2009 evaluation, Bangladesh was placed on a list of countries considered vulnerable to the international financial system. After a series of measures taken by the government, Bangladesh was removed from the list in February 2014.

Subsequently, in the 2016 mutual evaluation, the APG and its 42 member countries considered Bangladesh a "compliant country."