ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) have agreed to exchange information on investigations and prosecutions of money laundering, bribery or corruption, and other related offences.
The new Anti-Corruption Act, No. 9 of 2023 has empowered the CIABOC to share information relevant to any investigation with any local law enforcement authority or any other Government authority.
Under the Financial Transactions Reporting Act, No. 6 of 2006 (FTRA), the FIU can enter into MoUs with any domestic government institution to exchange information.
“The MoU between the CIABOC and the FIU would enable both institutions to exchange information, which is vital for prevention, detection and prosecution of money laundering, bribery or corruption, and other related offences,” the central bank said in a statement.
Since 2008, the FIU has entered into 44 MoUs with foreign counterparts as well as 13 MoUs with domestic government agencies including Sri Lanka Customs, Department of Immigration and Emigration, Inland Revenue Department, Department for Registration of Persons, Sri Lanka Police, Excise Department of Sri Lanka, in order to share
information to strengthen the AML/CFT framework of the country.
CIABOC commissioner Chethiya Goonasekera, PC, and director general Kanishka Wijeratne signed the agreement with Dr FIU director Subhani Keerthiratne.
The signing was chaired by central bank governor P Nandalal Weerasinghe as the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering
the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) National Coordinating Committee Chairman.
CBSL Deputy Governor K M A N Daulagala, member of the AML/CFT Task Force, attended the occasion. (Colombo/Jun20/2024)