The country’s banks provided about 350 Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) last year to the central bank thanks to its strict vigilance against money laundering, a Bangladesh Bank official said on Thursday. In the previous year, the STRs totalled nearly 200, Bangladesh Bank (BB) data said.
“The submission of an increased number of STRs means that there are greater more awareness and better compliance with relevant rules by the banks — the main objectives of our anti-money laundering efforts,” a high official at the anti-money laundering unit of BB told the FE.
“We have enhanced cooperation with companies and the international community to enable the exchange of information relating to money laundering and terror financing,” he added.
The suspicious transactions are being investigated into and the appropriate action is taken by the authorities, he said. “Bangladesh is in the good book of Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) because of its measures against financial irregularities,” BB’s officials concerned claimed.
According to them, Bangladesh Bank has punished most of the banks found involved in suspicious transactions. Considering the importance of the cases, the central bank can also ask banks to suspend their officials responsible for the transactions. The central bank can also file cases against a bank.
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