The central bank will issue a guideline by January to stop suspicious transactions in the stockmarket.

Bangladesh Bank took the decision at a meeting of the National Coordination Committee against money laundering yesterday, with Finance Minister AMA Muhith in the chair.

A finance ministry official said the BB will issue the guideline to meet the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global anti-money laundering body.

The official said the guideline aims to prevent investment of money earned through suspicious transactions or criminal activities in the capital market.

A BB official said the guideline will be prepared on the basis of the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Also, in line with the recent amendment to the money laundering act, the stockmarket related institutions will have to report to the central bank's financial intelligence unit on suspicious transaction reports.

The BB official said the guideline will provide direction about how the suspicious transaction reports will be made maintaining the 'Know Your Client' option for opening beneficiary owners' accounts.

Debaprosad Devnath, general manager of Financial Intelligence Unit of the BB, said if the guideline is issued following the directives of the FATF, the foreign investors' confidence in Bangladesh's capital market will increase much.

It will also help attract more foreign investment in the stockmarket, he added.

A BB report submitted at the meeting said Bangladesh has not yet completely met the requirements of the international anti-money laundering body.

If the requirements are not met by January, Bangladesh may be blacklisted.

The meeting also decided that the anti-terrorism act will be amended by February to fulfil the conditions of the FATF.

News: The Daily Star/Bangladesh/19-Nov-12