Sri Lanka : The Financial Intelligence Unit of Sri Lanka’s central bank is to collaborate with the stock market regulator on money laundering and terrorist financing investigations.
A central bank statement said the FIU had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Sri Lanka.
Arrangements have been made to sign agreements with several other regulatory and supervisory authorities on money laundering and terrorist financing investigations, it said.
The agreement is to establish a framework for sharing information on supervisory findings based on comprehensive risk-based supervision focused on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) /Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) in the securities sector.
Vajira Wijegunawardena, Director General of the SEC and D M Rupasinghe, Director, FIU signed the MOU on behalf of the institutions.
“Compliance with the AML/CFT framework of the country is essential for the securities sector participants too in the prevention of money laundering, terrorist financing and connected financial crimes which could threaten the stability of domestic as well as global economic and financial systems,” the statement said.
“The SEC, as the regulatory and supervisory body of the securities sector will conduct risk-based AML/CFT supervision and share supervisory findings with the FIU to ensure sector compliance with the AML/CFT framework.”
The FIU has already entered into agreements with foreign counterparts and domestic government agencies such as Sri Lanka Customs, Department of Immigration and Emigration, Department of Inland Revenue, Department for Registration of Persons and Sri Lanka Police in order to share information to facilitate investigations.
