Central bank obtains Egmont Group membership

IANS/Dhaka

The financial intelligence unit (FIU) of the central bank of Bangladesh has obtained membership of the Egmont Group at its recent annual meeting held in South Africa’s Sun City, an official said yesterday.

A F M Asaduzzaman, senior spokesman of Bangladesh Bank (BB), said that the annual general meeting of the Egmont Group, which was held on Wednesday made the decision to offer membership to Bangladesh for which the South Asian country awaited for about six years.

He said Bangladesh is now in a position to get information from the group on money laundering and terrorist groups-linked financing spontaneously.

Bangladesh reportedly applied for Egmont Group membership in 2007, but did not have a positive response from the network of FIUs because of its inability to meet previously some legal and infrastructural conditions.

The BB spokesman said obtaining membership of the Egmont Group will surely further enable Bangladesh’s FIU to develop vital relationships to facilitate exchange of financial intelligence with other FIUs and foster global partnerships in combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

He said: “It’s great achievement for Bangladesh,” which affirms its commitment to countering money laundering and terror financing.

Malaysia, an Egmont Group member country, made the proposal for inclusion of Bangladesh in the Egmont Group.

The Egmont Group was established in Brussels, Belgium in June 1995, as an informal international gathering for financial intelligence units worldwide. Its secretariat is located in Toronto, Canada.