FIU stresses need for SL to comply with FATF 40 Recommendations

From left: Dr. Gordon Hook - Executive Secretary/APG, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe - Governor of the Central Bank/Chairman of the AML/CFT National Coordinating Committee, Julien Brazeau - APG Co-Chair, Associate Assistant to Deputy Minister of Canada’s Department of Finance in Ottawa in the Financial Sector Policy Branch, David Shannon, Director - Mutual Evaluations Quality & Consistency, APG

SL’s third Mutual Evaluation set for March 2025 High-level delegation from the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) was in SL to help assist with AML/CFT framework

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Central Bank stressed it is imperative that Sri Lanka achieves Technical Compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) 40 Recommendations.
In a statement to the media, the Central Bank said efforts must be made to ensure that the AML/CFT framework delivers expected results, as measured by the FATF’s 11 Immediate Outcomes.

Sri Lanka’s third Mutual Evaluation is scheduled in 76 weeks, falling on March 2025.  
At present there are 24 stakeholders actively engaged in combating ML/TF in the country, and the FIU, as the focal point in coordinating efforts, has obtained the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers for the stakeholder-wise Actions Plans aimed at addressing the identified gaps in the AML/CFT Framework.

Sri Lanka was identified as a “Grey List” country with strategic deficiencies in its AML/CFT Framework twice by the FATF in 2011 and 2017, after the first and second Mutual Evaluations.
During the 2017 Grey Listing, the European Union also “Black Listed” Sri Lanka for non-compliance with these international standards. 
In 2019, Sri Lanka was able to exit the Grey List after addressing the gaps in the legal and institutional frameworks.

“Implementing FATF standards for enhanced effectiveness is fundamental to safeguarding our economy and society from profit-driven crimes, terrorism, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. 
“Sri Lanka is acutely aware of the severe costs incurred by the country due to terrorism, terrorist financing, drug trafficking, corruption, trade-related crimes, and other profit-driven criminal activities, including money laundering,” the FIU said.

To engage with local authorities and provide crucial insights regarding the upcoming mutual evaluation of Sri Lanka’s AML/CFT Framework, a high-level delegation from the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) was in Sri Lanka earlier this month.

During the 3-day visit, the delegation met with key figures in Sri Lanka, including President Ranil Wickremesinghe. 
The delegation observed that at the highest levels of Sri Lanka’s leadership, there is a deep understanding of the significance of the upcoming Mutual Evaluation, and that it is imperative all the stakeholders are committed to achieving strong results that mirror a resilient AML/CFT system.