The Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) has expressed strong concern over widespread corruption, financial looting, and illicit capital flight from Bangladesh’s banking and stock markets during the previous government’s tenure.
Warning that these irregularities could negatively impact Bangladesh in its upcoming Mutual Evaluation scheduled for 2027–28, the delegation emphasized that demonstrating tangible progress in financial sector reforms and asset recovery will be crucial for the nation’s international standing.
The warning came as an APG delegation concluded a three-day Preliminary Mutual Evaluation Planning (P-MEP) visit to Bangladesh from August 11 to 13.
During the trip, the delegation identified priority areas, rapid-action measures, and gap areas ahead of the formal evaluation, while also welcoming the current government’s initial steps to reform the financial sector and retrieve laundered assets abroad.
In meetings across multiple agencies, recent developments in Bangladesh’s financial sector took center stage.
APG delegates warned that massive money laundering risks stemming from past banking and stock market looting pose a significant threat to the country’s rating in the 2027–28 evaluation.
However, the delegation positively noted ongoing financial sector reform efforts, governance initiatives, and asset recovery steps, stressing the need to maintain momentum and deliver verifiable, real-world results before the main assessment.
During a meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism, chaired by the Finance Minister, the government assured the delegation of its firm political resolve to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.
NCC members and working committee officials, led by the Financial Institutions Division Secretary, briefed the APG on agency-specific preparations, operational readiness, and immediate action plans to strengthen the national AML/CFT framework.
Throughout the visit, the APG delegation held dedicated sessions with regulatory and enforcement bodies—including Bangladesh Bank, the BFIU, BSEC, IDRA, MRA, ACC, CID, NBR, and RJSC—alongside officials from key ministries, customs, and port authorities.
Discussions focused on metrics tied to various Immediate Outcomes (IOs), evaluating observations from past evaluations, Bangladesh’s current institutional capacity, and critical gap areas needing urgent intervention before formal evaluation begins.
Private sector alerted for preparation
Recognizing that international evaluations heavily weigh private-sector compliance, the delegation conducted separate sessions with representatives from banks, insurance companies, capital market intermediaries, NGOs, and non-profit organizations.
The APG emphasized that reporting entities must proactively refine their internal policies, Customer Due Diligence (CDD) mechanisms, continuous transaction monitoring, and Suspicious Transaction Reporting (STR) frameworks.
A Mutual Evaluation assesses both technical compliance with international laws and the practical effectiveness of a country's regulatory and enforcement institutions. Bangladesh previously underwent evaluations in 2002, 2009, and 2016:
- 2009: Placed on the high-risk jurisdiction list due to compliance gaps before exiting in February 2014 after targeted policy reforms.
- 2016: Rated as a "Compliant Country" by the APG and its 42 member states.
- 2027–28: The next full-scale evaluation cycle.