Bangladesh is preparing for a crucial international assessment of its financial crime-fighting regime as a high-level Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) delegation arrives in Dhaka tomorrow (Tuesday).
The three-day visit will help set the stage for the country’s fourth-round mutual evaluation in 2027-28, whose outcome could affect its international banking, trade, remittance and access to foreign financing.
Officials said the ‘Pre-Mutual Evaluation Planning Visit’ from August 11 to 13 is expected to assess the country’s preparedness for the next round of mutual evaluation, lay the groundwork and provide a roadmap for the comprehensive evaluation.
This evaluation will determine Bangladesh’s level of compliance with international standards on financial transparency and the prevention of money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing, they explained.
The APG delegation is expected to hold meetings with key ministries, departments and agencies, including policy-making committees involved in anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).
The primary focus of the visit will be to assess Bangladesh’s overall readiness, institutional framework and legal enforcement mechanisms for tackling illicit financial flows.
The delegation will also examine the effective implementation of existing AML/CFT policies, enforcement of relevant laws and practical guidelines, and the extent to which Bangladesh’s financial security measures are aligned with global standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
A mutual evaluation is an overall assessment of a country’s systems for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing related to weapons of mass destruction.
Conducted in line with FATF standards, the process examines both a country’s legal and institutional framework and the effectiveness of its implementation.
Bangladesh’s fourth-round mutual evaluation will be conducted by the APG in 2027-28 to assess the country’s compliance with international standards.
A high-ranking official said the evaluation was particularly important as poor performance against specific FATF standards could make international transactions, including foreign trade and remittance flows, more costly and make it more difficult for a country to secure foreign loans and grants.
He said comprehensive preparation was therefore essential for Bangladesh to successfully complete the evaluation and safeguard its international financial interests.
In the previous mutual evaluation conducted in 2016, Bangladesh was recognised as a compliant country by the APG and its 42 member states.
As part of its efforts to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) earlier formulated three national strategies for 2011-13, 2015-17 and 2019-21, a BFIU official said.
The national strategy is considered an important document for preventing money laundering and terrorist financing and is required to be submitted to the APG as part of the upcoming mutual evaluation.
In May, the National Coordination Committee on AML/CFT decided to formulate a new three-year national strategy for preventing money laundering and terrorist financing.Corporate finance solutions
Meanwhile, government authorities have sent six more Mutual Legal Assistance Requests (MLARs) to the concerned countries, following the dispatch of 23 such requests earlier, an official of the home affairs ministry informed a meeting.
The home ministry will send copies of the MLARs to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) when forwarding the requests to the respective countries, according to the meeting’s discussions.
Meanwhile, a special meeting of the National Coordination Committee on AML/CFT has been convened on Wednesday to coordinate the response of all primary regulatory and enforcement agencies ahead of the evaluation.
The meeting will be chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, with senior government officials in attendance.
Reflecting the importance attached to the upcoming evaluation, the finance ministry has issued top-priority instructions to the heads of key oversight, regulatory and security bodies, including the Anti-Corruption Commission, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Attorney General of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Bank, Ministry of Home Affairs, Inspector General of Police, Finance Division and Financial Institutions Division.
The meeting will discuss various directives and policy measures aimed at preventing money laundering and terrorist financing and review their implementation.
An official of the Financial Institutions Division (FID) said the outcome of the planning visit and subsequent evaluations would play a crucial role in safeguarding Bangladesh’s international banking relations, improving its foreign investment climate and protecting its global financial reputation.
Source: https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/national/bangladesh-faces-crucial-financial-crime-review
