Financial Intelligence Unit-Sri Lanka signs MoU with Chinese, Bhutanese counterparts

The Financial Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (FIU-Sri Lanka) has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with the China AML Monitoring and Analysis Centre and Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Bhutan.

The agreements were signed on the sidelines of the 20th Annual Meeting of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) held in Colombo from 17-21 July 2017 to share financial information in facilitating the investigation and prosecution of persons suspected of being involved in Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (ML and TF). 

FIU-Sri Lanka Director Dr. H. Amarathunga signed the MOU with China AML Monitoring and Analysis Centre Director General Luo Yubing and Deputy Governor/Head of FIU, Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan Phajo Dorjee on behalf of the respective institutions.

These MOUs have been entered into in terms of the provisions of the Financial Transactions Reporting Act, No. 6 of 2006. China became a member of the APG in 2001 and joined the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as a fully-fledged member in 2007. The FIU-Bhutan which was formally established in October 2010 within the Royal Monetary Authority, obtained its membership of the APG in 2011.

The FIUs across the world adopt MOUs to cooperate with each other through the exchange of information in order to combat ML and TF which are more often internationally connected and emanating from global criminal activities. 

In view of this, greater coordination among financial intelligence authorities is facilitated through MOUs which provide a legal framework adaptable to each country. This has been introduced by the Egmont Group, the association of FIUs worldwide.

With the signing of the above two MOUs, the total number of MOUs entered into by the FIU-Sri Lanka has increased to 35.