Seminar on anti-money laundering and terror financing on 27 July

A seminar on recent global and national developments in anti-money laundering and the financing of terrorism will he held on 27 July at Cinnamon Lake Side Hotel from 2.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m.

 The seminar is focused on heads and management of banks, finance companies, stock brokers, unit trust management companies, insurance companies, insurance brokers, accountants and lawyers. 

The Principal Speaker at the seminar is Dr. Dayanath Jayasuriya P.C., author of a leading text on Sri Lankan anti-money laundering and financial transactions reporting legislation and the former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka and Insurance Board of Sri Lanka.

The panel will be chaired by former Sri Lanka Chief Justice Asoka de Silva. The other speakers/panellists are Yasantha Kodagoda P.C., Additional Solicitor General, Kalinga Indatissa P.C., Malik Cader, Attorney-at-Law, former Senior Advisor at the Ministry of Finance and former Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan legislation relating to anti-money laundering and financial transactions reporting came into operation with effect from 6 March 2005.The draft legislation was under consideration  for more than a decade; each draft was different from the previous ones and there was much speculation as to the reason for the proposed changes. Stakeholder consultations were few and far between.

 The legislation contains certain draconian provisions in that decisions would be required to be made on the spur of the moment as to whether a proposed transaction should be allowed to proceed or whether a suspicious transactions report should be lodged, for instance. For certain offences the prescribed penalty is a period of imprisonment extending to 20 years.

Due to the nature of the requirements imposed, the procedural formalities involved and the offences that are created, anti-money laundering, financial reporting and terrorist financing laws tend to be complex and technical.

There are many definitions of ‘money laundering ‘. A relatively simple and non-technical definition is that it is the conversion of tainted or ‘dirty money’ into respectable assets so as to disguise or conceal the origin of such money and to give it the appearance of having been obtained from a legitimate source. What is meant by ‘dirty money’ is that the cash or other property is derived from a criminal activity such as drug smuggling. The scope of criminal activities for purposes of anti-money laundering control is ever expanding. The purpose of conversion is to give the appearance that the cash or such other property has been obtained from a legitimate source. As is the case of soiled or dirty clothes being laundered, there is a similar process involved in money laundering.