Suspicious transaction reports (STR) and suspicious activity reports (SAR) in Bangladesh increased by 65 percent in the outgoing financial year 2022-23 (FY23), according to the annual report of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU). "During the FY 23, the BFIU received a total of 14,106 STRs and SARs from relevant agencies," said BFIU chief Masud Biswas during an exchange meeting with journalists today at Bangladesh Bank (BB) headquarters in the city.
The total number of STRs and SARs was 8,571 in FY 2021-22. At the meeting, Additional Director of BFIU Kamal Hossain, said, "The increase in STRs and SARs does not necessarily indicate a rise in money laundering activities. It is due to the increase in digital financial transactions and enhanced monitoring by our department."
According to the BFIU report, 12,809 of the suspicious activities of FY23 were recorded in the banks, accounting for 90.80 percent of all reports, while 900 were recorded in money transmitters and 121 in NBFIs.
Besides, the intelligence unit received 1,075 information requests from various agencies in FY 23 alone.
Among these, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) requested the most with 540, followed by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) with 64 and the National Board of Revenue (NBR) with 95.
As per the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012, BFIU can obtain cash transaction reports (CTR) from banks and non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) and subsequently analyse the information.
CTR is any cash deposit or withdrawal amounting to Taka 10 lakh and above (or equivalent foreign currency) conducted through single or multiple transactions in an account within a single day in banks and NBFIs.
This information is used for operational analysis, strategic assessment and risk-based supervision of banks and NBFls.