Bank Asia has been slapped with a Tk30 lakh fine after an inspection by Bangladesh Bank found its involvement in helping clients transfer foreign currency abroad illegally.
The central bank’s Department of Foreign Exchange Inspection imposed the penalty on September 24, citing violations of foreign exchange laws and failure to prevent suspicious transactions.
According to the inspection report, two account holders — Farhana Karim and Alayna Chowdhury — transferred around $218,000 (Tk2.66 crore) abroad using their Resident Foreign Currency Deposit (RFCD) accounts.
The funds were sourced from the informal market and repeatedly deposited by third parties, bypassing legal thresholds and documentation rules, reports Daily Times of Bangladesh.
Investigators found that during 2023 and 2024, both clients deposited amounts exceeding the permissible limits and later spent the money overseas through bank cards. In one case, fabricated travel documents were used to justify deposits over $10,000, while some deposits were made when the account holder was abroad.
Under foreign exchange rules, citizens must declare more than $10,000 at entry and deposit it in RFCD accounts within 30 days. The inspection found neither of the clients followed these procedures, instead funnelling curb market dollars abroad.
The central bank concluded that the transactions could not have occurred without negligence or complicity by Bank Asia. By ignoring suspicious patterns and allowing unrestricted deposits, the bank enabled a form of money laundering, the report said.
Transparency International Bangladesh Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said such incidents erode public trust in the banking sector and called for tighter monitoring by the central bank.
Bank Asia Managing Director Sohail RK Hussain did not respond to requests for comment at the time of filing this report.
LND/SAE
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