Bangladesh FIU Tightens AML/CFT Requirements for Capital Market Intermediaries
Bangladesh’s financial intelligence unit has issued new anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing requirements for a broad group of capital market intermediaries, including brokerage houses, merchant banks, portfolio managers, securities custodians and asset management companies.
The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) issued the directive on 15 September 2026 to chief executives of the institutions concerned. The measures require each institution to establish a Central Compliance Unit at its head office, led by a chief anti-money laundering compliance officer (CAMLCO). Branches must also appoint branch anti-money laundering compliance officers.
The directive requires institutions to formulate and implement specific AML/CFT policies and to obtain accurate and complete customer information from reliable sources when opening accounts. Identification may include national identity cards, passports and birth registration certificates, while electronic KYC procedures may be used where appropriate.
Capital market intermediaries are also required to conduct screening to determine whether customers have links to persons or entities designated under United Nations Security Council resolutions or by the Bangladesh government. Customer transactions must be monitored on an ongoing basis.
Where a transaction is complex, inconsistent with the customer profile or appears potentially unlawful, the matter must be reported internally to the relevant branch AML compliance officer. The Central Compliance Unit is then responsible for examining the case. Where reporting is warranted, the institution must submit the matter to BFIU through the goAML Web system and maintain the confidentiality of the report.
The new requirements extend beyond customer and transaction controls. Institutions must conduct AML/CFT self-assessments twice each year using prescribed checklists and arrange independent assessments through their internal audit functions. They must also carry out background checks when recruiting employees and provide staff with regular AML/CFT training.
Customer and transaction records must be retained for at least five years after an account is closed or a business relationship ends.
The directive brings a more formal AML/CFT compliance structure to Bangladesh’s capital market intermediaries, combining designated compliance responsibility with customer due diligence, sanctions screening, transaction monitoring, suspicious transaction reporting, internal testing and record-retention requirements.
