Hon’ble Finance Minister,

Governor, Bangladesh Bank,Attorney General

Excellencies,Distinguished guests,Ladies and gentlemen,

A very good afternoon to you all.  

I am delighted to be present here at the Seminar on National Strategy for Prevention of Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism 2019-21. My sincere appreciation goes to the Financial Institution Division, Bangladesh Bank and Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit forco-organizing this seminar with Ministry of Foreign Affairs on an issue of critical importance to us.

Ladies & gentlemen,

Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism are global challenges. In today’s interconnected world every country is facing these complex and multi-faceted challenges. Advancement of technology is one of the factors that has contributed to the growth of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism activities. Every country shouldidentify, assess and understand the money laundering and terrorist financing risks for the country and take necessary actionby designating appropriatemechanism to coordinate actions to mitigate the risks effectively. In this regard, international cooperation and coordination is strongly needed to strengthen the Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism mechanism.

Dear Audience,

Corruption is a scourge for any society. In today’s world corruption is furthered primarily by money laundering. We consider corruption, especially money laundering is a major barrier in our development endeavor which aims at creating a equal society. The collective good that the government wants to ensure for its people often gets obstructed due to corrupt practices of few individuals.

The government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has shown strong commitment towards elimination of corruption from Bangladesh and has recently taken stern actions against the corrupt individuals.

Similarly, the Government of Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina maintains a policy of ‘zero tolerance’ towards all forms of terrorism including financing of terrorism.As a matter of principle, Bangladesh does not allow its territory to be used by any terrorist individual, groups or entity.Bangladesh recognizes the increasing trend of financing through cyber means that benefits the terrorists and extremist outfits. Bangladesh is thus taking robust and effective policy measures in addressing those emerging challenges.

Ladies & gentlemen,

You have already heard from our colleagues, Bangladesh has made significant development in strengthening its legal and regulatory regimes on anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism.The Government has enacted the Money Laundering Prevention Act (MLPA) in 2002 as a first country among the South Asian Countries. This has gone through several amendments to meet the international standards. Money Laundering Prevention Act has appropriate provisions to respond to the request of foreign countries to identify, freeze, seize and confiscate proceeds of crime, instrumentalities used and related property. Under Money Laundering Prevention Act, Bangladesh has formulated Money Laundering Prevention Rules in 2013.

Bangladesh has been working in close cooperation with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) for effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of its financial system.  In order to give specialized support to the National Coordination Committee’s work, a National Committee on UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) Implementation, has been formed under the leadership of foreign ministry. This Committee issued two SROs with detailed implementation mechanisms focusing on ensuring compliance with the two seminal UNSCRs 1267 and 1373 regarding Terrorist Designations and Asset Freezing Regimes. The committee developed a set of user-friendly guidelines with clearly spelt-out responsibilities for different actors to fulfill their obligations under the concerned terrorist financial sanctions.

Ladies & gentlemen,

I am happy to know that the National Strategy for Prevention of Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism for the term 2019-21 is going to be implemented 3^rd time in Bangladesh. This Strategy is a well-articulated roadmap for implementations of actions plans in an organized manner for Prevention of Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism. The strategy prioritizes actions focusing more on preventing proceeds of crime getting integrated in financial system.I believe, proper implementation of this strategy will strengthen our anti-money laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism Regime. It will helpto establish effective financial system and ensure macroeconomic stability as well as contribute to economic growth. It will increase our image in international arena and further strengthen our position in global financial platform.

Dear Audience,

In order to adequately address Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, we need coordinated effort apart from actions from the Government. I believe,proper implementation of international standards and best practices by engaging all relevant stakeholders including international bodies will help Bangladesh to play leading role within the region and global community in fighting money laundering, terrorist financing and financing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. 

In this regard, Bangladesh is deeply engaged with UNOffice of the Counter Terrorism, UNOffice on Drugs and Crimesand other UN bodies in capacity-building of national agencies.

It needs real time response from other countries to penetrate the complex network of money laundering and terrorist financing. We are fully committed to rendering our all-out support to other countries in addressing money laundering and terrorist financing as well as in recovery of assets. At the same time, we request other countries to reciprocate the same in the spirit of international and regional cooperation.

We would also welcome further cooperation from our friendly countries in developing our capacity and also in addressing the challenge in a coordinated manner.

Thank you all.