India boosts Sri Lanka’s anti-money laundering efforts with technical assistance visit

A high-level Indian delegation, led by the FATF Cell of the Ministry of Finance recently visited Sri Lanka to provide capacity-building and technical assistance to officials from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and other ministries.

The visit was aimed to strengthen frameworks to combat financial crimes and share best practices in anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT), a social media post shared by the ministry of finance on handle X said.

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The delegation comprised experts from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND), and the FATF Cell. This technical assistance visit underscores India’s commitment to supporting Sri Lanka in enhancing its AML/CFT regime.

The visit focused on building the capacity of Sri Lankan officials to effectively implement AML/CFT measures, aligning with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations. Sri Lanka has been working to address strategic deficiencies in its AML/CFT framework, identified in its mutual evaluation reports.

Sri Lanka has been a founding member of the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), which functions as the FATF’s regional affiliated body. The country has undergone mutual evaluations in 2006 and 2014/15, with the latter recommending several actions to rectify AML/CFT deficiencies. India and Sri Lanka have a long-standing relationship, with India being one of Sri Lanka’s largest trade partners and development partners.

The Indian delegation’s visit demonstrates India’s commitment to supporting Sri Lanka in its efforts to combat financial crimes and strengthen its AML/CFT framework. This cooperation is expected to enhance Sri Lanka’s ability to effectively implement AML/CFT measures and address strategic deficiencies identified by the FATF.