Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said that Sri Lanka had been taken off the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) jurisdictions for monitoring. Samaraweera was speaking at a Business Forum outlining Presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa’s economic policies. The event took place on October 18 at the Shangri La Hotel, Colombo.
The FATF statement states: The FATF welcomes Sri Lanka’s significant progress in improving its AML/CFT regime and notes that Sri Lanka has strengthened the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime and addressed related technical deficiencies to meet the commitments in its action plan regarding the strategic deficiencies that FATF identified in November 2017. Sri Lanka is therefore no longer subject to FATF’s monitoring process under its ongoing global AML/CFT compliance process. Sri Lanka would continue to work with APG to further improve its AML/CFT regime.
Samaraweera said: “Senior officials of the Financial Action Task Force has decided that Sri Lanka should no longer be in the grey list of money laundering and terror financing, the official announcement removing us from the grey list was made.”
He said, “The previous regime’s white vans and utter disregard for human rights and inability to fulfill its own voluntary international commitments, led us to a pariah status. Sri Lanka lost GSP Plus and our fish exports were banned from the EU. We were on the verge of targeted sanctions and travel bans in 2014. We were solely in one country.The Department of Commerce estimated that Sri Lanka lost 150,000 jobs as a result of losing the GSP Plus. Democracy, reconciliation and the restoration of ties with the whole world are the three pillars on which we build our economy.”
“The previous government left us with an economy in shambles. Despite declining government revenue as a share of the GDP, the previous government went on a borrowing spree. Sri Lanka had virtually no foreign currency debt in 2007 started borrowing dollar loans at high-interest rates. The money was spent on white elephant projects, especially in my part of the country.”
He noted,“Mattala Airport was called the world’s loneliest airport by the Forbes Magazine.”
The Minister outlined the economic achievements of his government. He said, “In 2015, Sri Lanka was like a patient gasping for breath in the intensive care unit. We have nursed the patient and he is ready to run. We have built a solid foundation for growth and development. Despite the droughts of 2016, the floods of 2017, the Sri Lankan constitutional coup, and the Easter tragedy this year, the economy iremains stable.”
“We recorded the first primary surplus in 63 years. We record a surplus this year even though it is an election year. All government borrowings since 2016, has been used to settle past debts. All macro variables have been stable and managed. A rules-based system is being put in place and there is no need to grease gilded palms to get things done.”
He added, “As I have and many others have noted before, if not for the 1983 riots, Sri Lanka would have had a thriving electronics industry and we would have made the transition from apparel to high-value exports.”
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