Bangladesh Bank executive director Md Masud Biswas has been appointed as head of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) in status of deputy governor on a contractual basis.
The Financial Institutions division of the Ministry of Finance approved the appointment on Tuesday. Prior to the appointment, Biswas was serving as the deputy head of BFIU. His new post carries the status of a deputy governor of the central bank.
During his career, Biswas has worked in the Foreign Exchange Policy Department, Banking Regulation and Policy Department, Payment Systems Department, Department of Off-Site Supervision, Foreign Exchange and Treasury Management Department and World Bank projects in different roles.
He obtained his M.Com in management from Dhaka University and also completed an MBA.
BFIU is the central agency of Bangladesh responsible for analyzing Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs), Cash Transaction Reports (CTRs) and information related to money laundering (ML), financing of terrorism (TF) received from reporting agencies and other sources and disseminating information/intelligence thereon to relevant law enforcement agencies.
BFIU has been entrusted with the responsibility of exchanging information related to money laundering and terrorist financing with its foreign counterparts.
The main objective of the BFIU is to establish an effective system for prevention of money laundering, combating financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
BFIU was established in June 2002 as the 'Anti Money Laundering Department' of Bangladesh Bank.
To enforce and ensure the operational independence of BFIU, the Anti Money Laundering Department was transformed into the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) on 25 January, 2012 under the provision of Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012 and has been bestowed with operational independence.
BFIU also achieved membership of the Egmont Group in July, 2013. The Egmont Group works globally and it was designed to improve communication, information sharing, and training coordination amongst its FIU members.