26 ABB explained confusion over MD's US visit

Managing Directors (MDs) of 26 public and private banks of the country are on a visit to the US to attend two events. Association of Bankers Bangladesh Limited (ABB), the bank's managing directors' organization, has claimed that various misleading reports have been published in various media about their visit.

In a press release, ABB said there were some inaccurate and misleading reports in the media about the two events in the United States. ABB is concerned that these misleading reports have been published.
According to ABB, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of Prosecutorial Development, Training and Assistant (OPDAT) work closely with the US Embassy in Dhaka and the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU). They invited managing directors of 26 Bangladeshi banks to the sixth annual US-Bangladesh Bilateral Banking Dialogue in Washington DC. The dialogue which started on May 20 will end on May 23.
The purpose of this Banking Dialogue is to strengthen the relationship between the BFIU and the financial institutions under its supervision. As well as working together on matters such as Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT). In the past, such banking dialogues have been held in New York, London, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Charlotte, USA.

ABB also said that from the point of view of the DOJ, it is mandatory for the banks of different countries of the world to join this dialogue and follow the rules derived from it. In this year's dialogue, representatives of the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) of the DOJ, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) of the US Treasury and the Department of Homeland Security of the US are presenting their various presentations to the bank MDs of Bangladesh. Apart from this, there will be a field trip to learn about cyber security activities of a major US bank.

Meanwhile, the Association of Bankers Bangladesh said that after the DOE's event in Washington DC, the managing directors of four banks organized an event with about 300 expatriate Bangladeshis at a five-star hotel in New York to promote offshore banking fixed deposit products. These four banks are Agrani Bank, BRAC Bank, City Bank and Dutch-Bangla Bank.

ABB said that these four banks' offshore banking dollar deposit collection marketing programs are not related to the DOE's banking dialogue in Washington DC. According to the organization, the total cost of the program is being spent on each of the 26 bank MDs based in Washington DC, some media reported. ABB says they are trying to mislead everyone with this, which is very sad.