The Cabinet on Monday approved the draft of the Money Laundering Prevention (amendment) Bill, 2015 allowing the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) to deal with and investigate corruption-related cases, reports UNB.The approval was given at the regular weekly meeting of the Cabinet held at Bangladesh Secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.Briefing reporters after the meeting, Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said the proposed amendments to the existing Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012 were brought to make the existing law more effective.Under the proposed amendments, the Cabinet Secretary said, the ACC will investigate only the corruption- and bribery-related cases while other agencies like the Police, the Customs Department or the Department of Narcotics Control would deal with other offenses like cheating, forgery, document forgery, illegal arms trade, drugs trade, abduction, since the proposed amendments have given them the direct authority.The proposed amendment to the law also kept provision for having joint investigative team involving the police, the NBR or the Narcotics Control Department since the issue of money laundering is often very complex.Besides, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has been empowered as it would have the operational autonomy or functional independence under the Bangladesh Bank and its head would be appointed by the government with the rank of a Deputy Governor through a search committee where the governor would also remain in the committee.Skilled hands will be appointed to the BFIU from the Bangladesh Bank and various organisations and departments like NBR, Narcotics Control Department through the recommendations from the BFIU chief through the central bank governor.The head of the BFIU will be appointed for four years and that will be renewable. The BFIU will submit its report to the concerned National Coordination Committee on preventing money laundering through the Bangladesh Bank Governor.The Cabinet Secretary said the Financial Intelligence Unit is also there in India as an independent organisation outside the jurisdiction of the Indian central bank where it submits its report to the Indian Economic Intelligence Council where Indian Finance Minister is its head.The proposed amendment also raised the punishment of fine which is at least double of the assets related to money laundering or Tk 20 lakh or higher. The punishment of jail terms remains at minimum four years and maximum 12 years.The Cabinet Secretary said the Finance Minister, the Law Minister and also the ACC had long been advocating for bringing necessary amendments to this law.The government formed the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit in 2012 in line with suggestions made by the global body. The main function of the unit is to analyse suspicious transaction and it has also been entrusted with the responsibility of exchanging information related to money laundering and terrorist financing with its foreign partners.The Cabinet also gave the final approval to the draft of the `Anti Corruption Commission (amendment) Bill, 2015` that proposes to relieve the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) of the responsibility to deal with cheating and forgery cases.In the proposed amendment, he said, the ACC would now investigate the bribery and corruption-related cases under the offences of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012.But, under the proposed amendment, the trial of cases of cheating and forgery of the government officials and bankers related to their official duties as well as cheating and forgery on government property would be held under the ACC Act.With the inclusion of the sections of trying the cases of cheating and forgery under the Anti Corruption Commission (Amendment) Act 2013, the number of such cases has increased enormously leading to the investigation and trials becoming troublesome.So, the Commission proposed to exclude these sections from the ACC Act.Under the proposed amendment, all cheating and forgery cases except those related to the government properties and relating to the duties of the government employees and bankers would be dealt by judicial magistrate courts.Besides, the Cabinet was apprised about the participation of Cultural Affairs Minister Assaduzzaman Noor at the International Book Fair held in the Iranian Capital Tehran from May 12-16, 2015 as well as at the 3rd International Forum on Inter-Cultural Dialogue held at Baku of Azarbizan from May 18-19, 2015.Ministers and State Ministers attended the meeting while secretaries concerned were present.