The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Sri Lanka entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Registrar General of the Registrar General’s Department on 6 August at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) to receive information on Trusts, property registrations, and any suspicious activities relating to Trusts and property registrations in relation to Money Laundering (ML), Terrorist Financing (TF) and related crimes.
This MoU has been entered into by the FIU in terms of the provisions of the Financial Transactions Reporting Act No. 6 of 2006. Registrar General’s Department Registrar General W.R.A.N.S. Wijayasinghe and FIU Director Dr. Subhani Keerthiratne signed the MoU on behalf of the respective institutions. The MoU was signed in the presence of CBSL Governor Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe, in his capacity as the Chairman of the Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) National Coordinating Committee, and CBSL Assistant Governor E.H. Mohotty also attended the event.
Legal persons and legal arrangements could be misused for ML/TF and related crimes, and thereby could threaten the stability of the national and global economic and financial systems. A legal arrangement includes an express trust, a fiduciary account or a nominee. This MoU will facilitate the Registrar General’s Department to provide information to the FIU relating to Trusts, property registrations, and any suspicious activities which will be vital for the prevention, detection, and prosecution of ML/TF and related crimes.
With the signing of this MoU, the FIU has entered into 15 MoUs with domestic Government agencies, including Sri Lanka Customs, Sri Lanka Police, Department of Immigration and Emigration, Inland Revenue Department, Department for Registration of Persons, Excise Department of Sri Lanka, Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, etc., in order to share information to strengthen the AML/CFT framework of the country.
The FIU has entered into 45 MoUs with foreign counterparts as well.
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