Governor urges stronger anti-money laundering compliance
The prevention of money laundering should not be regarded as the responsibility of banks alone, as lawyers, notaries, independent legal professionals and other designated non-financial businesses and professions DNFBPs also have a critical role to play, Central Bank Governor Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe said.
Addressing a conference organised by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka in Colombo, the Governor stressed that the effectiveness of Sri Lanka’s anti-money laundering framework would be closely examined during the country’s third mutual evaluation by the Asia-Pacific Group.
He said the mere existence of laws and regulations was insufficient to safeguard the credibility of the financial system, emphasising the need to demonstrate their effective implementation and practical results. The Governor noted that Sri Lanka had been downgraded during previous mutual evaluations and placed on the grey list, warning that the country must avoid a recurrence.
He said three key amended laws had already been enacted in 2026 the Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Act No. 16, Financial Transaction Reporting (Amendment) Act No. 17 and Suppression of Terrorism Financing (Amendment) Act No. 18.
Dr. Weerasinghe identified timely Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) as vital to detecting and preventing financial crimes. However, he revealed that the legal sector had submitted only two STRs during 2020-2026, describing the figure as “very low” and a matter of serious concern.
Source : Daily News
