US wants to help build capacity of BFIU

A visiting US Department of State official yesterday showed interest on developing the capacity of Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.

The BFIU is a government agency of Bangladesh responsible for investigating money laundering, suspicious transactions and cash transaction reports.

Richard Nephew, the state department's coordinator on global anti-corruption, expressed the interest in a meeting with a three-member team of the BFIU comprising Director Md Rafiqul Islam, Additional Director Kamal Hossain and Joint Director Zobaida Afroze.

When contacted by The Daily Star, the BFIU officials termed it a courtesy visit and informed that the US official had wanted to know what kind of assistant the BFIU needed.

The BFIU officials said they informed him about the agency's activities to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing and the meeting centred on ways to develop the BFIU's capacity.

The official was "very interested" to provide training and other technical support to develop the anti-money laundering agency, they said.

Nephew arrived in Bangladesh on Sunday and met Anti-Corruption Commission officials. He met civil society members at the US embassy and then the foreign secretary and BFIU officials yesterday.