VZCZCXYZ0012
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKA #0381 0660533
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 070533Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY DHAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3425
INFO RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

UNCLAS DHAKA 000381 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EB/ESC/TFS (KATHERINE LEAHY) 
EB/ESC/TFS (LEANNE CANNON) 
S/CT (PATTY HILL) 
S/CT FINANCE (GALER AND NOVIS) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIN ETTC KTFN PREL PTER LE BG
SUBJECT: TERRORIST FINANCE: BANGLADESH ADDRESSES ILLEGAL 
CASH COURIERS ISSUE 
 
REF: STATE 16120 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Econoff delivered points reftel to Mr. Swapan 
Bishwas, Deputy General Manager, Anti-money Laundering 
Department of the Bangladesh Bank (the country's central 
bank).  Mr. Biswaw affirmed Bangladesh's commitment to 
preventing the illegal movement of currency.  He cited the 
following as evidence of the government's commitment: 
 
-- Bangladesh has ratified the UN International Convention 
for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. 
 
-- Bangladesh implements FATF Special Recommendation IX 
through its foreign currency control regulations. 
 
-- Bangladesh law requires travelers to Bangladesh to declare 
currency valued in excess of US $5,000.  Undeclared currency 
is subject to forfeiture.  Travelers departing Bangladesh 
must declare currency valued in excess of US $3,000 (if 
traveling to a South Asia Association for Regional 
Cooperation member country) or US $5,000 (all other 
destinations.)  Customs and immigration authorities also 
monitor currency imports and exports.  Recent arrests for 
currency smuggling out of Bangladesh were widely reported in 
the media. 
 
-- Dealers in foreign currency must be licensed in 
Bangladesh.  Informal hundi or hawala arrangements are 
unlicensed and therefore illegal. 
 
-- Bangladesh has adopted a law against money-laundering. 
This law is currently under revision to strengthen its 
provisions and establish the legal basis for a formal 
financial intelligence unit.  Provisions against terrorism 
financing will be incorporated into the anti-money laundering 
law amendments or into a separate terrorism law. 
 
-- Bangladesh Bank has implemented requirements for cash 
transaction reports and suspicious transaction reports.  The 
central bank has conducted extensive outreach to banks to 
build technical capacity for detecting and preventing money 
laundering.  Bank supervisors review banks' anti-money 
laundering compliance programs as part of their core-risk 
analysis. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The U.S. government provides extensive technical 
assistance to the government of Bangladesh to improve its 
anti-money laundering capabilities.  Post's Resident Legal 
Advisor works closely with the Bangladesh Bank and officials 
from the Law, Home Affairs, and Finance ministries, as well 
as police, customs and judicial officials to improve legal 
provisions governing anti-money laundering and terrorist 
financing, to develop an environment of interagency 
cooperation, and to create and train a financial intelligence 
unit equipped with the legal and accounting expertise needed 
to detect, investigate and prosecute financial crimes. 
PASI