Money laundering via mobile banking

Seven bKash agents held

The Crime Investigation Department (CID) has arrested seven bKash agents for alleged illegal transactions. They were arrested on Wednesday from several districts in the country. Eight money laundering cases have been filed against them. They were: MD Mannan, 30, from Rajshahi; Songit Kumar Pal, 45, Md Jaminul Haque, 38, Mojammel Molla, 33 and Md Hassian Ali, 45, from Pabna; Didarul from Cittagang; and Abu Bakar from Mymansing.

Another agent, Monowar Hossain Mint, 29, managed to flee. According to a report by the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), Bangladeshi expatriates transact money through bKash agents with the help of an organised illegal group. These dubious transactions deprived the government of remittances coming from foreign countries, said the CID in a press conference. In a press conference held at the CID head

office at Malibagh, Molla Nazrul Islam, Special Superintendent of the CID’s Organised Crime Unit, said allegations had been received against 2,800 bKash agents across the country.

But there were allegations of huge illegal transactions against 25 agents.

Meanwhile, a Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) report also alleges that seven bKash agents were involved in illegal trading. The report prompted the CID to begin investigation against them.

Molla Nazrul Islam said that an organised group illegally siphoned off expatriates' income to reduce the remittance flow, which is a crime under the Money Laundering Act.

The organised group of unscrupulous bKash agents transacted money by illegal means, bypassing banking channels, the CID said.

The investigation revealed electronic messages from Singapore, Malaysia and countries in the Middle East sent to Chittagong, Pabna and Madaripur, indicating the amount of money and the place.

Some members of a "hundi" team operating outside Bangladesh and some local members received the money from wage workers, but did not send them to Bangladesh. They just paid the local rates.

The police official said bKash agents were sending money to the desired places in accordance with the messages without following any rule. For this, they used bKash accounts.

This practice has made Bangladesh a financial victim by depriving it of the remittance money directly through the banking system. And this fall in remittance could adversely affect the country’s foreign trade.

Such transactions come under Sections 2 (a) and (2) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2017 (Amended 2016).

Action would be taken against those involved, said the CID.

Molla Nazrul Islam said: “We've come to know about the involvement of some senior officials. Measures will be taken against them.”

Shamsuddin Haider Dalim, head of corporate communications of bKash, told The Independent that some quarters were involved in money laundering by taking advantage of mobile banking. “We don’t have any agent outside the country. They are involved in this crime by using our logo,” he said.

He also said the investigations had been initiated on the basis of information provided by bKash. “The investigation on the activities of the suspected mobile finance service (MFS) agents has been conducted on the basis of information provided by bKash as part of its regular monitoring to identify suspected or unusual transactions," he noted.

"This is an example of a coordinated effort by bKash, BFIU and law enforcement agencies to curb the abuse of the MFS platforms by criminals. We believe that it'll encourage MFS agents to be fully compliant with the rules and regulations as prescribed by the central bank,” said Shamsuddin Haider Dalim, head of corporate communication & PR, biKash.

Earlier, Bangladesh Bank (BB) has released a report on the "Impact of Mobile Banking on Financial Inclusion in Bangladesh", which stated that agents of mobile financial services (MFS) were actively involved in various criminal activities, including collection of ransom by human trafficking, extortion, and fraud by maintenance of several hundred false or real accounts.

According to the report, at the beginning of 2013, the total number of agents was 60,000. At the end of September 2015, this figure crossed 542,400. This  highlighted the rapid growth of this space in a very short time.

In terms of agent numbers, bKash is the market leader, followed by DBBL. It is seen that only 2 per cent of agents are women, while 49 per cent of the agents work in rural areas, the report noted.

The BB found that 71 per cent of the MFS users had access to an agent within one km. In contrast, only 19 per cent of bank account holders had a bank branch within the same distance. Most of the ATMs were available within two to 10 km. To access a post office, a user has to travel more compared to other access points of financial services.

The BB suggested that banks should ensure that fraudulent transactions were isolated for subsequent investigations and develop an IT-based automated system to identify suspicious transactions.

In fact, banks should immediately report to the anti-money laundering department of BB in case of any suspicious, unusual or doubtful transaction likely to be related to money laundering or terrorist financing, the report said.

The BB’s financial stability report showed that during January to September 2015, a total of Tk. 1,136.92 billion was transacted, while it was Tk. 1,031.55 billion in 2014, Tk. 517.83 billion in 2013, and Tk. 71.23 billion in 2012.

 

Money laundering via mobile banking

Seven bKash agents held

The Crime Investigation Department (CID) has arrested seven bKash agents for alleged illegal transactions. They were arrested on Wednesday from several districts in the country. Eight money laundering cases have been filed against them. They were: MD Mannan, 30, from Rajshahi; Songit Kumar Pal, 45, Md Jaminul Haque, 38, Mojammel Molla, 33 and Md Hassian Ali, 45, from Pabna; Didarul from Cittagang; and Abu Bakar from Mymansing. Another agent, Monowar Hossain Mint, 29, managed to flee. According to a report by the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), Bangladeshi expatriates transact money through bKash agents with the help of an organised illegal group. These dubious transactions deprived the government of remittances coming from foreign countries, said the CID in a press conference. In a press conference held at the CID head office at Malibagh, Molla Nazrul Islam, Special Superintendent of the CIDs Organised Crime Unit, said allegations had been received against 2,800 bKash agents across the country. But there were allegations of huge illegal transactions against 25 agents. Meanwhile, a Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) report also alleges that seven bKash agents were involved in illegal trading. The report prompted the CID to begin investigation against them. Molla Nazrul Islam said that an organised group illegally siphoned off expatriates income to reduce the remittance flow, which is a crime under the Money Laundering Act. The organised group of unscrupulous bKash agents transacted money by illegal means, bypassing banking channels, the CID said. The investigation revealed electronic messages from Singapore, Malaysia and countries in the Middle East sent to Chittagong, Pabna and Madaripur, indicating the amount of money and the place. Some members of a hundi team operating outside Bangladesh and some local members received the money from wage workers, but did not send them to Bangladesh. They just paid the local rates. The police official said bKash agents were sending money to the desired places in accordance with the messages without following any rule. For this, they used bKash accounts. This practice has made Bangladesh a financial victim by depriving it of the remittance money directly through the banking system. And this fall in remittance could adversely affect the countrys foreign trade. Such transactions come under Sections 2 (a) and (2) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2017 (Amended 2016). Action would be taken against those involved, said the CID. Molla Nazrul Islam said: Weve come to know about the involvement of some senior officials. Measures will be taken against them. Shamsuddin Haider Dalim, head of corporate communications of bKash, told The Independent that some quarters were involved in money laundering by taking advantage of mobile banking. We dont have any agent outside the country. They are involved in this crime by using our logo, he said. He also said the investigations had been initiated on the basis of information provided by bKash. The investigation on the activities of the suspected mobile finance service (MFS) agents has been conducted on the basis of information provided by bKash as part of its regular monitoring to identify suspected or unusual transactions, he noted. This is an example of a coordinated effort by bKash, BFIU and law enforcement agencies to curb the abuse of the MFS platforms by criminals. We believe that itll encourage MFS agents to be fully compliant with the rules and regulations as prescribed by the central bank, said Shamsuddin Haider Dalim, head of corporate communication PR, biKash. Earlier, Bangladesh Bank (BB) has released a report on the Impact of Mobile Banking on Financial Inclusion in Bangladesh, which stated that agents of mobile financial services (MFS) were actively involved in various criminal activities, including collection of ransom by human trafficking, extortion, and fraud by maintenance of several hundred false or real accounts. According to the report, at the beginning of 2013, the total number of agents was 60,000. At the end of September 2015, this figure crossed 542,400. This highlighted the rapid growth of this space in a very short time. In terms of agent numbers, bKash is the market leader, followed by DBBL. It is seen that only 2 per cent of agents are women, while 49 per cent of the agents work in rural areas, the report noted. The BB found that 71 per cent of the MFS users had access to an agent within one km. In contrast, only 19 per cent of bank account holders had a bank branch within the same distance. Most of the ATMs were available within two to 10 km. To access a post office, a user has to travel more compared to other access points of financial services. The BB suggested that banks should ensure that fraudulent transactions were isolated for subsequent investigations and develop an IT-based automated system to identify suspicious transactions. In fact, banks should immediately report to the anti-money laundering department of BB in case of any suspicious, unusual or doubtful transaction likely to be related to money laundering or terrorist financing, the report said. The BBs financial stability report showed that during January to September 2015, a total of Tk. 1,136.92 billion was transacted, while it was Tk. 1,031.55 billion in 2014, Tk. 517.83 billion in 2013, and Tk. 71.23 billion in 2012.