Oxfam in Bangladesh organized a workshop today to prevent money laundering (ML) and combating terrorism financing (TF) in the NGO sector who are working at Cox’s Bazar with the technical support of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU).
The workshop was chaired by Ashis Damle, Country Director of Oxfam in Bangladesh and the Chief Officer of BFIU Md. Masud Biswas participated as chief guest.
Chief Guest Masud Biswas said, ‘Terrorist groups are hiding inside the country and abroad easily incite the helpless marginalized people into terrorist activities with the lure of money. Therefore, it is important for NGOs who work with marginalized people to be careful about this. Cox’s Bazar is an important border area of the country, which is known as one of the drug smuggling routes. Also, since the region has a border with Myanmar and the issue of Rohingyas taking shelter in the region is very sensitive.’
He also said, ‘Therefore, the workforce and infrastructure of NGOs working in the region should be especially careful so that no evil forces can use them for the purpose of money laundering and financing of terrorism. Foreign donors who are sending grants/relief/aid should be sure of their identity and should be wary of accepting aid from any person or organization listed in the UN Security Council.’
In the President’s speech, Ashish Damle discussed that the knowledge gained from this workshop will be useful in developing the structure of prevention of money laundering and financing of terrorism. He called for efforts to ensure that no NGO can be used as a means of financing money laundering and terrorism.
The day-long workshop featured six sessions on countering money laundering and terrorist financing through the NGO sector. Among these sessions were Bangladesh laws to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, what NGOs should do, the role of the NGO Affairs Bureau, etc. Representatives of BFIU, NGO Affairs Bureau, and Oxfam in Bangladesh led these sessions. Representatives of about 20 international and national development organizations participated in the workshop.