The Finance Minister has issued an Extraordinary Gazette Notification prescribing a format for suspicious transactions to be followed by institutions defined under Section 33 of the Financial Transactions Reporting Act (FTRA).
The notice informs the following designated Non-finance Businesses (DNFBs) of their obligation to report any transaction where there is reasonable ground to suspect that the transaction may be related to commission of any unlawful activity or criminal offence as defined in Section 33 of the FTRA: (a) Individual and collective portfolio management; (b) Investing, administering or managing funds or money on behalf of other persons; (c) Safekeeping and administration of cash or liquid securities on behalf of other persons; (d) Safe custody services; (f) Trustee administration or investment management or a superannuation scheme; (g) Casinos, gambling houses or conducting of a lottery, including a person who carries on such a business through the internet when their customers engage in financial transactions; (h) Real estate agents, when they are involved in transactions for their clients in relation to the buying and selling of real estate; (i) Dealers in precious metals and dealers in precious and semi-precious stones, including but not limited to, metals and stones covered by the Gem and Jewellery Act, No. 50 of 1993 when they engage in cash transactions with a customer; (j) Lawyers, notaries, other independent legal professionals and accountants as defined in the Section 33 of the FTRA; (k) Trust or company service providers as defined in the Section 33 of the FTRA; (l) Offshore units in accordance with the definitions provided for the same in other written laws.
Accordingly, DNFBs are advised to use Schedule V of the said Gazette to report any suspicious transaction to the Financial Intelligence Unit.
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