A special discussion regarding Sri Lanka’s Third Mutual Evaluation on international standards for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) was convened on Tuesday at the Presidential Secretariat, with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake presiding.
During the meeting, the President emphasized that the government must first hold itself accountable and commit to good governance before showcasing its integrity to external entities. He urged all stakeholders to responsibly fulfill their institutional duties to achieve this goal.
Global policies on AML/CFT are set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which also formulates strategies to prevent the financing of weapons of mass destruction proliferation. The FATF has issued 40 recommendations that countries are required to implement. These recommendations assess each country’s systems for preventing money laundering and terrorist financing, including their legal framework, resource allocation, and stakeholder effectiveness. This process is known as the Mutual Evaluation.
The evaluation is a national-level process coordinated by a regional supervisory body, with Sri Lanka’s oversight conducted by the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG). Dr. Gordon Hook, the former Executive Secretary of the group, provides advisory support. Domestically, around 25 government institutions participate in this process, coordinated by the Financial Intelligence Unit within the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
The President-appointed Operational Committee on AML/CFT monitors stakeholders’ implementation of action plans during the evaluation.
The discussion also reviewed Sri Lanka’s previous evaluations in 2006 and 2014–2015, noting the failures that led to its international Greylisting in 2017. The current government is offering strong political leadership to restore Sri Lanka’s international credibility, emphasizing the need to prioritize this program nationally and ensure its successful implementation.
The President questioned officials about existing legal obstacles and delays in passing necessary legislation, instructing that required technical amendments be expedited.
It was revealed that human resource shortages in several government institutions have hindered the evaluation process. The President directed immediate action to address staff shortages and suggested exploring the rehiring of experienced retired officers on a one-year contract basis.
The President also called for corrective measures to resolve issues caused by a single officer holding multiple positions, urging that promotions and recruitments be expedited with consultations from the Public Service Commission. To avoid setbacks from the continuous rotation of trained officers, he ordered a circular to keep relevant officers in their current positions until the evaluation’s conclusion in November.
The Special Task Force’s progress report on this evaluation process is expected within the next two weeks.
The session included distinguished officials such as Minister of Justice and National Integration Harshana Nanayakkara, Governor of the Central Bank Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development Dr. Harshana Suriypperuma, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retd), and Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Aruni Ranaraja, along with other Ministry Secretaries. Also present were Attorney General Pärinda Ranasinghe, Inspector General of Police Priyantha Weerasuriya, Chief of National Intelligence Major General Nalinda Niyangoda, and heads of relevant institutions including the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption and the Legal Draftsman’s Department.
