Bangladesh militants use Bitcoins for laundering money to Kashmir

[Swopon]

India TV is the same channel that shows hour long "documentaries" about finding a "Mummy of Raavan" in Sri Lanka. (Raavan is the villain in Ramayan, a Hindu legend). You can judge how genuine they are.

Also, even if governments ban bitcoin based on such sketchy news, the terrorists won't magically stop. When the US govt sanctioned Iran, they didn't stop flying the F-14 Tomcat. In fact, today Iran has the only F-14 Tomcats in service in the world. And they did well enough on their nuclear program too. Political problems don't end by bans/ sanctions but by actually facing the real underlying issues.

Yeah.. just noticed that the OP had posted link from India TV. No one takes this TV channel seriously in India. It is the TV version of Coin Telegraph. Always showing fake news, or bait videos. That said, given the close proximity of this particular TV channel to the ruling party, I won't rule out a well planned propaganda campaign against Bitcoin in India. If the government proxies paint Bitcoin as something used by terrorists, then it will be much easier for them to go ahead with a ban.

I don't think that the news is fake. India TV can publish negative sides or fake news or something like that. But it was also published by a renowned newspaper of Bangladesh which is nationally certified (News Link will be given below).

https://bit.ly/3rFBcPo (Use translator)
https://bit.ly/3ckHTju

[ene1980]

India TV is the same channel that shows hour long "documentaries" about finding a "Mummy of Raavan" in Sri Lanka. (Raavan is the villain in Ramayan, a Hindu legend). You can judge how genuine they are.

So is it like a soap opera, it is a mythical story from what i understand from the searches and it is great if they can create a documentary about mythical books. If it is good and it is in English or has subtitles do share me the content so that i can watch.

Also, even if governments ban bitcoin based on such sketchy news, the terrorists won't magically stop. When the US govt sanctioned Iran, they didn't stop flying the F-14 Tomcat. In fact, today Iran has the only F-14 Tomcats in service in the world. And they did well enough on their nuclear program too. Political problems don't end by bans/ sanctions but by actually facing the real underlying issues.

I do agree with the government understanding the technology and trying to find a way to legalize it rather than an outright ban which will not help the legit users and the people who use it for illegal activities will always find a way to keep doing that.

[Sithara007]

I do agree with the government understanding the technology and trying to find a way to legalize it rather than an outright ban which will not help the legit users and the people who use it for illegal activities will always find a way to keep doing that.

If they ban the trading of Bitcoin, then the activity will move underground and become more risky for everyone. People will start using decentralized P2P platforms such as Bisq which are extremely difficult to track. Obviously the government can nab a few by posing as traders, but out of the millions of cryptocurrency users in India, how many are they going to arrest? If they allow the exchanges to operate, at least they will make KYC mandatory and the authorities will be able to track the transactions.

[mersal]

Until 2009, these kind of criminal settlements are happening in what payment mode? Completely centralized fiat money right so blaming the system is not actually right, it like banning something because few people using the technology in the wrong way. Governments can never seize the cryptos that is why they are worrying much than actual criminal activities.

[Shasha80]

It must be admitted that many criminals use Bitcoin for money laundering, and this is not only happening in Bangladesh. But in almost all countries
there are always criminals who abuse Bitcoin to launder money. Therefore, almost all centralized exchanges have implemented KYC / AML to prevent
money laundering. In fact, not a few countries have banned Bitcoin for money laundering reasons. I hope that criminals who use Bitcoin for
money laundering can be immediately arrested and given penalties that are appropriate for their crimes.

[Swopon]

It must be admitted that many criminals use Bitcoin for money laundering, and this is not only happening in Bangladesh. But in almost all countries
there are always criminals who abuse Bitcoin to launder money. Therefore, almost all centralized exchanges have implemented KYC / AML to prevent
money laundering. In fact, not a few countries have banned Bitcoin for money laundering reasons. I hope that criminals who use Bitcoin for
money laundering can be immediately arrested and given penalties that are appropriate for their crimes.

Absolutely right, there are many criminals who use BITCOIN to launder money. In South Asian Zone, many developing countries still not legalized Bitcoin but people are using it. Many of them announced it is a crime and will be punished for using it. Bangladesh is one of them and already many cases there where people got arrested for making transaction on BITCOIN.

[Imran232]

So whats a big deal if they use bitcoin. Any person do anything but we only blame bitcoin. This is not right. Bitcoin is just a way so why we will blame thats because of it is impossible to track sender and reciever. Well thats not the right fact.  I want to tell another thing lots of Bangladeshi prople works in others countries and a huge percent of people use hundi method to transfer money in Bangladesh.  Government knows and government also can track them and also government ban it. So what people still use hundi. I think if government start a user-friendly way for bitcoin in our country that people definitely also use bitcoin.

[bryant.coleman]

So whats a big deal if they use bitcoin. Any person do anything but we only blame bitcoin. This is not right. Bitcoin is just a way so why we will blame thats because of it is impossible to track sender and reciever. Well thats not the right fact.  I want to tell another thing lots of Bangladeshi prople works in others countries and a huge percent of people use hundi method to transfer money in Bangladesh.  Government knows and government also can track them and also government ban it. So what people still use hundi. I think if government start a user-friendly way for bitcoin in our country that people definitely also use bitcoin.

The Hundi/Hawala method remains the preferred mode of funding for 99.999% of the terrorist organizations in the South Asia region. And regarding this news, I am not even sure about its reliability. For me, it looks as if some of the government officials have come up with a wild theory with hardly any proof. They are looking for excuses to ban Bitcoin and to persecute cryptocurrency users. And scripted stories such as this one helps them to go ahead with their plans.

[Johnyz]

So whats a big deal if they use bitcoin. Any person do anything but we only blame bitcoin. This is not right. Bitcoin is just a way so why we will blame thats because of it is impossible to track sender and reciever. Well thats not the right fact.  I want to tell another thing lots of Bangladeshi prople works in others countries and a huge percent of people use hundi method to transfer money in Bangladesh.  Government knows and government also can track them and also government ban it. So what people still use hundi. I think if government start a user-friendly way for bitcoin in our country that people definitely also use bitcoin.

The Hundi/Hawala method remains the preferred mode of funding for 99.999% of the terrorist organizations in the South Asia region. And regarding this news, I am not even sure about its reliability. For me, it looks as if some of the government officials have come up with a wild theory with hardly any proof. They are looking for excuses to ban Bitcoin and to persecute cryptocurrency users. And scripted stories such as this one helps them to go ahead with their plans.

Many countries says Bitcoin is being used for terrorism just to ruin its reputation and of course to regulate Bitcoin. If this thing is true, then for sure everything is recorded which the government can review very well. Terrorism are using fiat money as well, maybe they can also ban people from using it but then again, Bitcoin is still great despite of this one and there’s no proof for this claim.

[ene1980]

~
If they ban the trading of Bitcoin, then the activity will move underground and become more risky for everyone. People will start using decentralized P2P platforms such as Bisq which are extremely difficult to track. Obviously the government can nab a few by posing as traders, but out of the millions of cryptocurrency users in India, how many are they going to arrest? If they allow the exchanges to operate, at least they will make KYC mandatory and the authorities will be able to track the transactions.

From what i understand there are still people in Bangladesh actively trading in bitcoin and the government has pushed the market underground as bitcoin is banned for a long time as i remember checking the banned country list a few years ago and i do not think they changed that and obviously there are people from Bangladesh in this forum and they might be active in P2P based platforms. I am also curious to know how they are dealing with the situation.

[Sithara007]

From what i understand there are still people in Bangladesh actively trading in bitcoin and the government has pushed the market underground as bitcoin is banned for a long time as i remember checking the banned country list a few years ago and i do not think they changed that and obviously there are people from Bangladesh in this forum and they might be active in P2P based platforms. I am also curious to know how they are dealing with the situation.

First of all, Bitcoin is not something that can be banned. If the Bangladesh government wants to ban Bitcoin, then the only way to do that is to shut down the entire internet in that country. Otherwise, it is not practical to spy on 200 million people and their bank accounts, to know whether they are trading cryptocurrency using P2P platforms or not. And it is not just P2P platforms. Users can even register with international cryptocurrency exchanges and do trading (those which allow users from Bangladesh, and not the Binance type exchanges).

[Renampun]

...

First of all, Bitcoin is not something that can be banned. If the Bangladesh government wants to ban Bitcoin, then the only way to do that is to shut down the entire internet in that country. Otherwise, it is not practical to spy on 200 million people and their bank accounts, to know whether they are trading cryptocurrency using P2P platforms or not. And it is not just P2P platforms. Users can even register with international cryptocurrency exchanges and do trading (those which allow users from Bangladesh, and not the Binance type exchanges).

yes, banned Bitcoin is an impossible job right now...
The ones that can be banned are the exchange sites and other sites that deal with Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies but not Bitcoin. but now we already have a VPN and there are many ways you can do to avoid getting banned.

[bryant.coleman]

yes, banned Bitcoin is an impossible job right now...
The ones that can be banned are the exchange sites and other sites that deal with Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies but not Bitcoin. but now we already have a VPN and there are many ways you can do to avoid getting banned.

As long as you are dealing solely with cryptocurrency, there is no problem. But the issue is that you need to convert your holdings to fiat cash at some point of time. If you do that through online banking, then the government can easily track you. One option is to deal with physical cash. There are a few traders in P2P platforms who do that. But then, it can be quite risky to deal using physical cash with unknown people.

[Kittygalore]

As long as you are dealing solely with cryptocurrency, there is no problem. But the issue is that you need to convert your holdings to fiat cash at some point of time. If you do that through online banking, then the government can easily track you. One option is to deal with physical cash. There are a few traders in P2P platforms who do that. But then, it can be quite risky to deal using physical cash with unknown people.

Even if the government do track your transactions with your bank, I think that there should be some kind of amount that you are going to reach before you can get flagged so if most transactions that you have are around the 3 digit in USD, I don't think that it won't raise some flags. I do agree P2P is the best but I think that the safety issue of dealing with stranger can be alleviated if you have some companion in the transaction and you do the transaction in a public place.

[Flowzer]

Because we all want privacy with our financial transactions, the good people and the bad, whether we are hiding something or not.

This does not amount to a big deal actually. Sometimes we are overemphasizing such incidents simply because Bitcoin is involved in it. More often than not, criminals use fiat. Good people use it, too. The same goes with Bitcoin. It is being used both by bad and good people. But in terms of cross-border transactions, Bitcoin is a whole lot better than fiat. We all know that. Terrorists must have also heard of it.

Exactly, Bangladesh is a developing country and recently promoted from least developing country to Developing country in terms of Economy and GDP rate. By the way, people are getting smart nowadays and criminals too. Passing money from border, Bitcoin is the most safest way to transfer the whole money without knowing anyone. That's why, criminal can take that opportunity. On the other hand, good people also use Bitcoin as you already explained.

But for the huge amount of BTC, most of the market have a daily limit and need KYC to bypass withdrawing it.
So, if the case tracked earlier, the fund can be blocked at the market.

[Sithara007]

Even if the government do track your transactions with your bank, I think that there should be some kind of amount that you are going to reach before you can get flagged so if most transactions that you have are around the 3 digit in USD, I don't think that it won't raise some flags. I do agree P2P is the best but I think that the safety issue of dealing with stranger can be alleviated if you have some companion in the transaction and you do the transaction in a public place.

P2P platforms can be quite risky. I have dealt with some buyers (with 100% positive feedback) in P2P platforms and had very bad experience sometimes. The strategy adopted is very simple. They keep us waiting for 1 hour or more, claiming that there is some issue with the bank. Then they will mark the transaction as "paid" without making the payment. I am having years of experience in dealing with these people, so I immediately opened the dispute option and got my coins back. If some inexperienced user was in my place, then he might have lost his coins. And dealing with these people face to face is not recommended at least in developing nations. You don't know their criminal background. Once the transaction is done, there is always a chance that they will blackmail or threaten you, as your identity is known.

[sana54210]

According to the commentary of the officer, a special action group of Sohail Newaz and Fazle Rabbi Chowdhury named two militants were arrested by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP),  special branch of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime(CTTC) in September 2019. During interrogation, they said that militant organizations have been getting a lot of funds through Bitcoin system since 2014.

These two further said that they collected a huge amount of money from Pakistan and Gulf countries in the form of cryptocurrency. They used to raise money through 'Hundi', but it is now in the monitoring of the law-discipline forces.

This is another proof that bitcoin could be moved around however we want, if you look at it from a different point of view, you could see this as "if these groups can move money around and launder money, then I can do whatever I want since my thing is not this illegal", because none of us do anything this dangerous and illegal, what could be the worst thing you could do? Trade bitcoin when it is not allowed? Gamble with bitcoin when it is not allowed?

None of them are as serious subjects as this and that is why it is really not a big deal if you ask me, that is why I think it is quite obvious that we should not be worried about what we do when there are people who do worse things.

[mazdafunsun]

I dont know how this is a big thing, yes crypto currencies are used for bad things as well as for good things. It is the same with FIAT, FIAT is used way more for laundering and bad things. Yu dont see news articles stating '' FIAT was used for such and such crime'' but for crypto it is suddenly big news, besides crypto is easier to trace so it is even better that criminals use crypto over fiat, they can be found more easily.

[yhiaali3]

Of course, news like this has a negative impact on the global adoption of Bitcoin, but what should be done? How can criminals and terrorists be prevented from using Bitcoin or new technologies? They are always looking for appropriate means to achieve their goals.
For example, terrorists use computers, the Internet and a mobile phone to communicate with each other and coordinate terrorist operations, as well as use bank accounts, cards and cash to buy weapons and explosives, so can these things be prevented?
The same thing with Bitcoin, they will certainly use Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies to achieve their purposes, and no one can prevent them from doing so, but we cannot cancel Bitcoin for this reason.

[bryant.coleman]

Just some media trying to demonize thing that goes against their interests. fiat actually far surpasses crypto currency if compared to crypto in the use for illegal activities. You see everywhere it's the paper money that got used for transaction like drugs, etc that appears in some news. if crypto being used for criminal activities it's definitely not the currency's mistake but the people themselves. whenever there's some hole people always gonna exploit.

Even now, there is only one form of payment which is 100% anonymous, and that is physical cash. In the cryptocurrency sector, we have so called "anonymous" coins such as Monero, Zcash and Deep Onion. But recently there have been instances of users of Monero getting arrested after authorities tracked their transactions. So although the coins claim that they are anonymous, there is a chance that someone will be able to trace the transaction back to the user. But no such issue with physical cash. It is impossible to trace any of the transactions, if done using physical cash.