VZCZCXRO5404
OO RUEHCI
DE RUEHKA #1781 3170816
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 130816Z NOV 07 ZDK PER RUEHSD #0054 3171036
FM AMEMBASSY DHAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5527
INFO RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO PRIORITY 8138
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 1867
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 0258
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA PRIORITY 0968
UNCLAS DHAKA 001781
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
EEB FOR JAY JALLORINA, S/CT, AND INL
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: BG EFIN ETTC KCRM PREL PTER KTFN
SUBJECT: TERRORIST FINANCE: FOLLOW-UP ACTION REQUEST ON
ILLICIT CASH COURIERS FROM BANGLADESH
REF: STATE 152088
1. (U) The following is the response to an action request
(reftel) for information on cash couriers from Bangladesh:
2. (U) Bangladesh has ratified the UN International
Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.
It also implements FATF Special Recommendation IX through its
foreign currency control regulations. The Foreign Exchange
Regulations Act of 1947 governs the flow of cash in
Bangladesh.
3. (U) 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 (SAARC) member country) or US $5,000 (all other
destinations). Customs and immigration authorities also
monitor currency imports and exports. Some recent arrests
for currency smuggling out of Bangladesh were widely reported
in the media.
4. (U) Dealers in foreign currency must be licensed in
Bangladesh. Informal hundi or hawala arrangements for
remittances are unlicensed and therefore illegal. While
official remittances in Bangladesh have increased due in part
to improved mechanisms for legally transferring money,
hundi/hawala arrangements remain and are roughly estimated at
several billion dollars annually.
5. (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