Sri Lanka still grappling with numerous money laundering activities has taken steps to introduce necessary amendments to the Financial Transactions Reporting Act (FTR) and to address various other issues relating to the legal framework.
Nevertheless, despite gaps still exist in the money laundering and terrorist financing regulations, Sri Lanka has made great progress in combating and regulating money laundering in the recent past, In 2006, Sri Lanka underwent a mutual evaluation from the Asia, Pacific Group on money
laundering (APG), Central Bank, Finance Intelligence Unit Director Dr. H. Amaratunga said.
Noting that the government is careful of taking actions with the global community to tackle these growing problems, Amaratunga added that Sri Lanka will continue to focus on creating more effective and stricter rules and regulations in this regard.
“With the improvement of the financial system, it is necessary to be mindful of numerous illegal activities taking place in tandem with the monetary system.”
Meanwhile, Gordon Hook, Executive Secretary of Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) noted that the human, wildlife trafficking and other threats emanating from various other illegal activities pose huge challenges to the global community and the law enforcement authority.
He further noted that countries including Sri Lanka need to have better access to sophisticated technology while adopting policies and measures to counter money laundering and terrorist financing activities domestically.
Sri Lanka has passed numerous laws dealing with combating money laundering. In 2005 and 2006, Sri Lanka passed three important acts related to money laundering. The Convention on the Suppression of Terrorist Financing Act,
The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, and The Financial Transactions Reporting Act (FTR).
Sri Lanka hosted the 20th Annual Meeting of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) in Colombo last week , which saw the participation of around 450 local and foreign delegates from the APG’s 41 member countries and several international observers.
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