Bangladesh Bank has instructed local banks to refrain from engaging in financial transactions with Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB) and Myanmar Investment and Commercial Bank (MICB) as the US has recently imposed sanctions on these two. 

The banking regulator, through letters to all scheduled banks on August 20, said the two were now under sanctions issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the US Department of the Treasury.

In June this year, the US imposed sanctions on the two Myanmarese banks and the defence ministry of Myanmar.

Bangladesh Bank has issued the letter months after the US embassy in Dhaka informed Bangladesh's foreign ministry about the sanctions.

In June this year, the US imposed sanctions on the two Myanmarese banks

The US embassy also requested the ministry to take steps as the two have correspondent accounts with state-owned Sonali Bank.

After receiving the letter from the US embassy, the foreign ministry sent a letter to the Financial Institutions Division under the finance ministry on August 3 informing about the two banks' accounts with Sonali Bank.

Sonali Bank has frozen the accounts of the two Myanmarese banks following sanctions imposed by the US, Sonali Bank Managing Director and CEO Md Afzal Karim told The Daily Star recently.

"Further steps will be taken based on Bangladesh Bank's opinions," he said.