http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/more.php?news_id=108220&date=2010-08-06

The government has undertaken a move to amend the existing Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) aiming to broaden the purview of reporting organizations, a top official in the Ministry of Finance (MoF) said.

Under the move, individuals and financial institutions involved in the capital market like stock dealers, merchant banks and portfolio managers will be included in the existing list of reporting organisations, the official added.

The individuals and organisations in questions will be liable to report to Bangladesh Bank (BB) regularly on suspicious transactions after the amendment is made, it is learnt.

"The amended AMLA will be stringent enough to attain the global standard of anti-money laundering Acts," a top official in the MoF said.

The government will soon undertake another move to amend the Anti-Terror Financing Act, he added.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith approved the contents of amendment last week, which will be scrutinised further by the Ministry of Law and Parliamentary Affairs and Office of the Attorney General simultaneously before placing it to the Cabinet Division for approval, a high official said.

The move has been taken to upgrade the country's Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2009 to the international standard. Recently, Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental body formed to develop and promote national and international policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, in its report said Bangladesh is still non-compliant in at least 10 key areas in attaining international standard, an official said.

The FATF has strongly recommended the government to make the current AMLA stringent to attain global standard.

The MoF formed a 12-member National Coordination Committee (NCC) last week to finalise an action plan to prevent the money laundering and terrorist financing in accordance with the recommendations made by international anti-money laundering institutions including the FATF.

Currently, banks, financial institutions, insurance companies and money changers have to report to BB on any suspicious transaction.

Furthermore, the MoF has included six more areas of crimes as predicate offences to be included in the amended version of the AMLA, 2010, sources said.

The offences are insider trading and market manipulation, financing in terrorist activities, food adulteration, polluting environment, sexual harassment and organised crimes.

The AMLA, 2009 has 16 kinds of predicate offences including those of extortion, human trafficking, smuggling, abduction and killing, illegal arms trade and crime like dowry.

The amended version of AMLA will raise the imprisonment and monetary penalty for any disobedience of the Act and misreporting, a high MoF official said.

Earlier, the BB recommended to amend the Act with insertion of the new clauses concerned.