Government okays ordinance on money laundering with stiffer punishment for offence

Worried over reported spurt in money laundering, the government has cleared an ordinance to fight the menace that makes changes in the existing law.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 5 Oct 2015, 10:31 AM
Updated : 5 Oct 2015, 10:31 AM

The Cabinet at a meeting on Monday, chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, decided to adopt the 'Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Ordinance'.
 
Cabinet Secretary Muhammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told reporters that the Cabinet had approved amendments to the law for prevention of money laundering on Aug 17.
 
"But since there is no Parliament session at the moment and since the matter is considered urgent, an ordinance has been prepared and now cleared by the Cabinet to tackle the problem," Bhuiyan said.
 
He said a team from the 'Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering' is visiting Bangladesh soon.
 
The problem has serious global and regional ramifications, Bhuiyan said.
 
About the amendments, he said the existing law designates the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) as the only agency capable of prosecuting offenders accused of money laundering.
 
But after the amendment, he said, the ACC will only prosecute offenders accused of corruption and money laundering.
 
Other forms of money laundering offences will be dealt with by other agencies like police, National Board of Revenue or the drug-enforcing agencies, he said.
 
Changes in the ACC Act to relieve the antigraft watchdog of much pressure of work were approved by Cabinet on Aug 17.
 
The amendment to the existing law will now make it possible for several agencies to jointly investigate cases of money laundering.
 
Though the prison terms (4 to 12 years) remains the same, the limit of the financial penalties has been doubled from Tk 1 million to Tk 2 or double the amount laundered ( whichever is more).
 
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Bangladesh Bank will also be strengthened, Bhuiyan said.