Bangladesh 5 notches up on anti-money laundering index
The top five highest-risk countries are Haiti, Chad, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Yemen. The lowest-risk country is Iceland
Bangladesh has improved in the Basel Anti Money Laundering (AML) Index 2023, going up five notches to the 46th, the Bangladesh Bank said today.
The central bank cited a report by the Basel Institute on Governance, which assessed the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) risk of 152 countries.
Bangladesh was ranked 41st in the 2022 report.
The top five highest-risk countries are Haiti, Chad, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Yemen. The lowest-risk country is Iceland.
China, the United States, and the United Kingdom have been ranked 27th, 119th, and 140th, respectively.
The report attributes Bangladesh's improved ranking to increased transparency in the financial sector and improved anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing frameworks. The report also cites the Bangladesh government's high-level political commitment, inter-agency coordination, and financial and human resource investment in AML/CTF efforts.
According to the Mutual Evaluation Report of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering, Bangladesh has complied with eight of the Financial Action Task Force's 40 recommendations, largely complied with 27, and partially complied with five.
The Basel Institute on Governance has been publishing the Basel AML Index for 12 years based on five key indicators. These are: AML/CTF framework compliance (65%), corruption (10%), financial transparency and standards (10%), transparency and accountability (5%) and legal and political risk (10%).