Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur has said that the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), Bangladesh Bank, and other government agencies are working jointly to recover money laundered from the country through the formation of an inter-agency task force.
He made the remarks while inaugurating the Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officers (CAMLCO) Conference-2025 at the Radisson Blu hotel in Chattogram on Friday. The event was organised by the BFIU in collaboration with the Association of Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officers of Banks in Bangladesh (AACOBB).
Dr Mansur identified the repatriation of laundered money as a key objective of the interim government. He noted that remittance inflows through official banking channels have recently increased significantly, reflecting a reduction in money laundering. This, alongside contractionary monetary policy, has helped stabilise the foreign exchange rate and broader macroeconomic conditions.
He stressed that effective monetary policy—coordinated with inflation, investment returns, and other indicators—can play a crucial role in preventing financial crimes. Dr Mansur also pointed to weak institutional governance as a root cause of corruption and money laundering in the banking sector, while praising banks that have implemented good governance as industry leaders.
He emphasised the need for genuine autonomy of the central bank, which he said could prevent future crises, and noted that the current government is taking this issue seriously.
AACOBB Chairman Mohammad Ziaul H Mollah expressed his determination to strengthen Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) compliance.
In his welcome speech, Selim R F Hussain, chairman of the Association of Bankers Bangladesh (ABB), urged banks to adopt advanced technology-based monitoring systems and address institutional governance shortcomings.
BFIU Chief AFM Shahinul Islam, who presided over the event, highlighted the negative effects of loan defaults, fraud, and money laundering on economic growth, inflation, foreign reserves, and the balance of payments.
He credited recent policy measures and leadership changes with contributing to improved reserve and forex market management. He called for stronger AML/CFT compliance and corporate governance to maintain discipline in the financial sector.
The conference also addressed emerging threats such as gold smuggling, hundi, online gaming, betting, forex trading, and cryptocurrency-related laundering, with discussions on prevention strategies and thematic challenges.
Bd-pratidin English/FNC
