The government has moved to make major changes to the existing Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012, to bring back money and assets laundered abroad more quickly. Under the new proposal, the conventional approach to proving allegations about laundered assets will change significantly, with the burden of proving innocence placed on the accused. If the new law is passed, the accused will have to prove that the assets they acquired or moved abroad are entirely legal.
Meanwhile, a seven-member special committee has already been formed to collect customs duties and taxes from assets laundered abroad. The law is also to include specific remedies so that innocent people are not harassed, and the deadline for applying for the return of confiscated property is being extended. Experts have stressed the need to frame the law to meet present-day needs and keep pace with advances in modern technology.
The details come from the minutes of a recent inter-ministerial and stakeholder meeting on amending certain sections of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012, to recover assets laundered abroad. The meeting was chaired by Nazma Mobarek, secretary of the Financial Institutions Division. Representatives of the home ministry, the Finance Division, the National Board of Revenue (NBR), the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the Attorney General’s office, Bangladesh Bank and the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) took part and gave their views.
A special ordinance was initially planned to fill gaps in the existing legal framework for recovering illicit money and assets laundered abroad. After considering the overall situation, however, the government changed course and chose to amend the existing law instead. The new draft stresses strict adherence to international standards to prevent the layering, or repeated transfer, of illicit money through money laundering.
Experts say that in the complex crime of money laundering, offenders hide the source and true ownership of money in many ways, which makes it very hard for the prosecution to prove the offence under conventional law. To cut through these legal complications and delays, a provision placing the burden of proof on the accused is being added, following international law and the examples of countries such as India, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Malaysia.
Remedies against harassment
Alongside tougher rules, the amendment process is also giving particular weight to people’s legal protection and to preventing harassment. Officials said the provisions of the proposed amendment are being reviewed very carefully in light of the Evidence Act, 1872, so that no innocent person is needlessly harassed.
The deadline for applying for the return of confiscated property or assets to the person concerned, under section 18 of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, is also being extended from 30 days to 45 days. The longer deadline will give affected people or claimants adequate opportunity to establish their legal rights.
Former NBR chairman Mohammad Abdul Majid said amending the Money Laundering Prevention Act is urgently needed to meet the demands of the times. Effective steps must be taken to adapt to changed circumstances, and in particular the country must keep pace with advances in modern technology, he said.
Committee to collect duties and taxes
The Financial Institutions Division has formed a seven-member inter-ministerial committee to determine how to collect the customs duties and taxes owed to the government from bank accounts frozen or blocked by the courts as part of assets laundered abroad. The division’s central bank wing recently issued a notification to this effect. The Attorney General has been made convener of the committee. Its members are an additional secretary of the Financial Institutions Division, the director general of the ACC’s money laundering wing, the head of the BFIU, the director general of the NBR’s Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) and the DIG of the CID’s organised crime wing. The director general of the NBR’s Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) will serve as member secretary.
The committee’s main terms of reference are to review existing laws and rules to recover the money owed to the state from frozen accounts, to determine the necessary legal steps and to ensure effective coordination among the agencies involved. The initiative is expected to play an important role in speeding up the ongoing recovery of laundered money and assets and in protecting the state’s financial interests.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report