Sri Lanka moves to strengthen fight against money laundering and terror financing

A special discussion on Sri Lanka’s Third Mutual Evaluation on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) was held this morning (February 03) at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo under the patronage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

Addressing officials, the President stressed that before proving integrity to the international community, the government must first take responsibility for its own actions and commit to good governance, while calling on all institutions to carry out their duties responsibly.

Global AML/CFT standards are set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which has issued 40 recommendations that all countries must follow. These guidelines assess a country’s systems to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of weapons of mass destruction, including laws, resources, effectiveness and institutional capacity. This process is known as the Mutual Evaluation.

Sri Lanka’s evaluation is overseen by the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), with advisory support from Dr. Gordon Hook, former Executive Secretary of the group. Around 25 government institutions are involved locally, with coordination led by the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. The President-appointed Operational Committee on AML/CFT monitors the progress of action plans assigned to these institutions.

The discussion also reviewed Sri Lanka’s past evaluations in 2006 and 2014–2015, including the failure that led to the country being Greylisted internationally in 2017. Officials stressed the importance of giving national priority to this programme, especially as the current government seeks to restore Sri Lanka’s global credibility.

The President questioned officials on legal delays and obstacles and instructed that necessary technical amendments be fast-tracked. He was informed that staff shortages in several institutions were slowing progress and directed immediate steps to address this, including exploring the rehiring of experienced retired officers on one-year contracts.

He also ordered corrective action where a single officer holds multiple positions, instructed that promotions and recruitments be expedited through the Public Service Commission, and directed that a circular be issued to retain trained officers in their current posts until the evaluation concludes in November.

The report of the Special Task Force appointed to monitor the evaluation process is expected within the next two weeks.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Justice and National Integration Harshana Nanayakkara, Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development Dr. Harshana Suriypperuma, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retd), and Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Aruni Ranaraja, along with other Ministry Secretaries. Also present were Attorney General Pärinda Ranasinghe, Inspector General of Police Priyantha Weerasuriya, Chief of National Intelligence Major General Nalinda Niyangoda, and heads of key institutions including the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption and the Legal Draftsman’s Department.