Police have informed Parliament's Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) that approximately US$715 million (around Rs. 240 billion), believed to have been generated through criminal activities such as drug trafficking, was remitted overseas using false import documents.
The disclosure was made by Senior Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Asanga Karawita, who is leading the investigation, during a CoPF meeting held on Thursday.
According to the committee, the funds were transferred abroad through Telegraphic Transfers (TTs), but investigations found that no corresponding goods were imported into Sri Lanka, raising serious concerns over fraudulent trade transactions and illicit financial flows.
CoPF questioned officials from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Customs, and the Department of Imports and Exports under the Ministry of Finance to verify the transactions and examine the regulatory failures that enabled the alleged fraud.
Committee Chairman Dr. Harsha de Silva, MP, said the discussions revealed significant lapses in the monitoring and reconciliation of outward remittances with import documentation.
"The Police updated the Committee on the progress of the criminal investigations. It was most disappointing to find that reporting requirements relating to outward remittances by both state and private banks had not been strictly followed. These regulatory gaps were exploited by fraudsters," Dr. de Silva said.
The committee also noted shortcomings in coordination among financial institutions, Customs authorities, and the Department of Imports and Exports, which allowed the suspicious transactions to go undetected.
Police investigations into the alleged money laundering and trade-based financial fraud are continuing, while CoPF has called for stronger regulatory oversight and stricter compliance measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
