A special discussion on Sri Lanka's Third Mutual Evaluation (3rd Mutual Evaluation) concerning international standards on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) was held this morning (04) at the Presidential Secretariat under the chairmanship of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
During the meeting, the President emphasized that the active participation of all public and private sector institutions is essential to ensure the successful completion of this third evaluation process, which is crucial for strengthening Sri Lanka's credibility within the international financial system.
The mutual evaluation will assess Sri Lanka's technical compliance with the 40 Recommendations issued by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), as well as the country's effectiveness, measured against 11 Immediate Outcomes that evaluate how successfully those recommendations have been implemented.
The on-site assessment by the evaluation team is scheduled to take place this year. Accordingly, the President stressed the importance of fully implementing the relevant recommendations over the coming months and noted that close coordination among all institutions would be key to successfully completing the evaluation process.
Officials from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka informed the meeting that Sri Lanka has been preparing for this evaluation since 2023 and that preparations have been significantly intensified over the past two years under strict timelines.
This is a national-level evaluation conducted by the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG). Approximately 25 domestic government institutions are involved in the process, with coordination being carried out by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) established under the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
The Task Force on Preventing Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism, appointed by the President, is responsible for monitoring the progress of the action plans to be implemented by the relevant stakeholder institutions during the evaluation process.
The meeting reviewed the progress made by ministries and institutions in implementing the recommendations and action plan related to the evaluation. It also discussed the challenges encountered and the measures required to address them promptly.
The President also inquired about the measures taken to curb online gambling and the current status of the legal framework being introduced to regulate and prevent such activities.
In addition, the President reviewed the progress in establishing the Authority for the Management of Property Derived from Crime. He emphasized the need for the authority to operate effectively and efficiently. Officials informed the meeting that the establishment of the authority has been completed and that recruitment of staff is currently underway.
