Bangladesh Bank on Thursday asked scheduled banks not to open several mobile financial services accounts in favour of a single client to avoid financial crimes and anomalies. The BB issued a circular to managing directors and chief executive officers of all banks saying that from now on a client would be allowed to open only one account with a bank or its subsidiary company’s mobile financial service. The banks will have to close immediately all accounts but one in favour of their clients. The BB circular said that the central bank had recently found allegations that some agents of mobile financial services opened a number of accounts with a bank. The agents of the MFS subsequently conducted transaction on behalf of the unregistered clients who can resort to financial crimes, it said. The banks usually fail to detect the financial crimes if the transaction is made in favour of the unregistered clients, the circular pointed out. The BB earlier set a transaction limit on daily and monthly basis for a client under the mobile financial services, but it did not set the limit of opening the accounts. A BB official told New Age on Thursday that the central bank had taken the measure to avoid money laundering and other financial crimes. The BB will not be able to trace money laundering by the unregistered clients of the mobile financial services, he said.
Source: New Age
