As part of the initiative, Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) will be signed between key government agencies and the Central Bank’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to improve information sharing and joint investigations.
Agencies to be brought under the coordinated framework include the Inland Revenue Department, Police Department, Attorney General’s Department, Auditor General’s Department, all banks and financial institutions, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption, Sri Lanka Customs, the Department of Import and Export Control, the Registrar of Companies, the Department of Immigration and Emigration, the Excise Department and the Gambling Authority of Sri Lanka.
It was reported that the absence of formal coordination mechanisms has hampered efforts to detect and investigate money laundering activities, including illegal cross-border cash movements.
The MOUs are expected to be finalised by November, after which Sri Lanka will be able to seek assistance from the Paris-based FATF to investigate money laundering, terrorist financing and related crimes at an international level.
CBSL Officials said entities suspected of engaging in money laundering would be subject to closer scrutiny, even if they are compliant with tax obligations. Individuals linked to such entities will also be investigated once the inter-agency agreements are in place.
Investigations will extend to not-for-profit organisations, casinos, offshore accounts and real estate developers, sectors often used to launder illicit funds, the officials said.
The FATF sets global standards and promotes the effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of weapons proliferation, and to safeguard the integrity of the international financial system.
