BFIU Circular Letter No. 02: Instructions to be followed by the financial institutions for preserving secrecy of information

Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit Bangladesh Bank Head Office Dhaka Ref. No. BFIU Circular Letter No.: 2/2018 Date:

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer All Financial Institutions Operating in Bangladesh

Dear Sir,

Regarding the issuance of instructions to be followed by financial institutions for preserving the secrecy of information.

In light of the Money Laundering Prevention Act and Rules, the secrecy of information exchanged with the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing is considered confidential, and the breach of such information secrecy is legally punishable. Under the powers granted by Section 23(1)(d) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012 and Section 15(1)(d) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009, for the compliance of all financial institutions operating in Bangladesh, the following instructions are issued:

a) No information regarding communication between the financial institution and the BFIU shall be disclosed. When financial institutions collect information, documents, or additional relevant information/documents regarding customer accounts as verified by the BFIU from their branches or departments, the reference of the BFIU letter, a copy of the letter (with attachments), or the email shall not be provided to the branch or department, nor shall the name of the BFIU be mentioned;

b) In the case of BFIU orders regarding account freezing or transaction suspension, financial institutions may inform the relevant branch by mentioning the section of the law stated in the BFIU letter. However, the reference of the BFIU letter or a copy of the letter shall not be provided to the branch;

c) To implement paragraphs (a) and (b) above, the Head Office of the financial institution may issue a separate office order if necessary;

d) All replies to letters or circulars sent by the BFIU must be sent using the specific reference number of the BFIU letter. In this regard, when a financial institution sends a reply to a letter or circular sent by the BFIU, it must open that specific circular/letter and use the reference number to provide the reply. Replies to letters or emails sent from any official email of this Unit must be sent to the official email address of the respective officer;

e) If there is no information on the matter requested by the BFIU, no hard copy shall be sent; only a scanned copy of the letter shall be sent using the specific reference number of the BFIU letter or, if applicable, official email. However, if there is information on the matter requested, the financial institution must send a soft copy (via specific reference number of the BFIU letter or official email), a hard copy, or both, as per the instructions in the letter or circular sent by the BFIU;

f) In case of technical issues with the specific reference number of the BFIU letter or official email, information or documents (hard copy) shall be exchanged via letter.

2. You are advised to perform your duties with greater awareness regarding the preservation of information secrecy.

This instruction shall be effective immediately.

Yours faithfully,

(Md. Zakir Hossain Chowdhury) General Manager Phone: 9530118 22 Baisakh, 1425 22 April, 2018