Masud Biswas appointed BFIU chief

The government has recently appointed Masud Biswas as the head of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) for the next two years.

The Financial Institution Division issued a circular in this regard on Tuesday.

According to the circular, Masud has been appointed on a contractual basis as the "chief officer" of BFIU.

His appointment comes along with a promotion from the post of executive director of the Bangladesh Bank to a deputy governor.

Masud had been serving the central bank as the executive director of its Chattogram and Bogra offices.

During his tenure, he also headed various departments at the bank's head office, including the Department of Offsite Supervision, Financial Integrity and Customer Services. He was also the project director of the Financial Sector Support Project (FSSP) funded by the World Bank.

Son of Md Abdul Jabbar and Monowara Begum, Masud was born on 18 January 1963 in Nawlamari village in Alamdanga upazila of Chuadanga.

He holds a Master's degree in Management and an MBA (Finance and Banking) degree. He also completed a DAIBB banking diploma from the Institute of Bankers Bangladesh.

Masud joined the Bangladesh Bank in 1988 as an assistant director (general). During his tenure at the bank, he visited several countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, India, China, Philippines, Thailand, Switzerland, Nepal, Bhutan, Malaysia, and Indonesia to take part in seminars, training, and for other work-related reasons.

He is the father of a daughter and a son. His daughter is studying in the last semester of MBA at Brac University and his son is a student at St Joseph's College. His wife is a housewife.

Masud's predecessor as BFIU chief Abu Hena Md Razi Hossain's term ended on 10 September. The government later issued a notification asking experienced candidates to apply for the post by 20 September.