Financial Intelligence Unit to form steering committee to prevent trade-based laundering
The decision was taken at a meeting organised by the BFIU on Sunday with representatives of relevant government agencies and 15 scheduled banks.
The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has decided to form an inter-agency steering committee involving public and private sector stakeholders to strengthen efforts to prevent trade-based money laundering (TBML).
The decision was taken at a meeting organised by the BFIU on Sunday with representatives of relevant government agencies and 15 scheduled banks, according to a press release.
The proposed committee will identify TBML risks, improve information sharing and inter-agency coordination, and support investigations into suspected cases.
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Representatives of the BFIU, Bangladesh Bank's Foreign Exchange Policy Department and Foreign Exchange Operation Department, the National Board of Revenue's Central Intelligence Cell and Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate, several customs houses, the Criminal Investigation Department, Anti-Corruption Commission and 15 scheduled banks attended the meeting.
Participants shared their experiences and discussed existing challenges, emerging risks and measures needed to curb TBML. They observed that TBML techniques are becoming increasingly complex and evolving continuously, underscoring the need for coordinated action, effective information-sharing mechanisms and stronger risk-analysis frameworks.
The meeting stressed closer cooperation among regulatory and law enforcement agencies, scheduled banks, customs authorities and other private-sector stakeholders, alongside institution-specific monitoring.
The proposed steering committee will review existing risks and challenges, assess ongoing measures, strengthen information-sharing mechanisms and determine future actions. It will also hold regular meetings to review the activities of relevant agencies and provide necessary guidance, the BFIU said.
The financial intelligence agency expects the committee to improve the identification of potential TBML activities, monitoring of suspicious transactions, analysis of relevant information and coordination of investigations.
