Editorial
Terrorist links of two local banks
The matter demands thorough investigation and urgent action
Reports that two Bangladeshi banks, the Islami Bank Bangladesh (IBBL) and Social Islami Bank (SIBL), have alleged links with terrorist financing have come from the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Given that terrorist financing must be high on the agenda of the counter-terrorism activity of any country, and we are no exceptions, this comes as highly disconcerting news.
Taking advantage of the weak internal governance of the US branch of HSBC, these two banks have allegedly been routing funds to different international networks suspected to have terrorist links.
HSBC's Financial Intelligence Group provided information that the chief of a Bangladeshi Islamist terrorist outfit JMB Shaikh Abdur Rahman maintained accounts with IBBL. And as per the statement of the BB Governor yesterday, the alleged terrorist link of IBBL and SIBL was reported back in 2007 and the BB had taken necessary measures already, and the Bank is now examining the recent report and, if necessary, it would take further steps. As per our understanding, the BB had recommended taking action against 20 of its employees and fined the bank thrice, which, we feel, were not enough.
But the question is what prevented BB from investigating further into the suspicious transactions and take necessary action against IBBL and why it did not take recourse to using the Money Laundering Prevention Act, which is in existence since 2002? Though HSBC is a foreign Bank, the Bangladesh Bank cannot wash its hands off the matter, since the two banks, the IBBL and SIBL are Bangladeshi banks. The actions of BB apparently did not stymie the alleged illegal activities of the banks.
In the light of the revelations of these two banks' terrorist links, the government should take immediate measures by instituting enquiry into the affair to find out the loopholes and the persons complicit in the matter. And that must be followed up by exemplary action against them. It is necessary to discover the loopholes and plug them once for all, so that repetition of similar activities could be stopped.
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