Law to regulate foreign funds okayed

The Cabinet has approved a draft law to regulate receipt and utilisation of foreign funds by organisations in Bangladesh.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 2 June 2014, 08:34 AM
Updated : 2 June 2014, 08:05 PM

The law prohibits political parties, Supreme Court judges, parliament members, government and semi-government employees and elected members of local councils from receiving funds from abroad.

The meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday cleared the draft of Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Act, 2014.

“This is to make a law by combining the two ordinances now used for regulating foreign funds. These ordinances were brought into force in 1978 and 1982 during military rule,” Cabinet Secretary Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told bdnews24.com.

“NGOs will have to register with NGO Affairs Bureau if they want to receive foreign funds. No activities will be allowed without registration.”

An individual will not need to register for receiving donations for PhD or research but they will need approval of the NGO Affairs Bureau.

NGOs will be registered for a period of 10 years and that may be revoked anytime if the organisation violates regulations, said the Cabinet secretary.