Police want immediate access to bank account info

Bangladesh Police want access to bank accounts for proper and prompt investigation into money laundering and terrorist financing cases in the country. They recently made a request to the Finance Ministry which has already sought opinion of Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) of Bangladesh Bank on the matter. Upon BFIU's suggestion the Finance Ministry has also sent a letter to the Law Ministry for its opinion. Law Minister Anisul Huq told the Dhaka Tribune that the ministry was scrutinising the request. At present, the police have to take permission from Bangladesh Bank and the court before launching any investigation into a bank account. But the recent rise of money laundering and militancy has led the police to seek immediate access to bank accounts information so they can promptly deal with the matter. “Banks are responsibile for preserving information on accounts of their clients,” said an official at the Bank and Financial Institutions Division. “The government keeps it in mind that clients also have rights to confidentiality regarding such information while granting the police access to bank accounts for the purpose of terrorist financing investigation,” the official added. The total number of bank accounts in Bangladesh currently stands at around 90 million. Bangladesh's total population is 160 million. If only the adult population is taken into account, nearly 90% of them have bank accounts. There are 25m mobile bank account holders and the number is increasing every day. On an average, a total amount of Tk350 crore is being transacted every day through mobile banking.