The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Sri Lanka has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Secretariat for Non-Governmental Organizations to exchange information on investigations and prosecutions of Money Laundering (ML), Terrorist Financing (TF) and related crimes and of any persons connected.

According to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), the FIU signed the MOU, per the provisions of the Financial Transactions Reporting Act, No. 6 of 2006. 

Mr. Sanjeewa Wimalagunarathna, Director General and the Registrar of the National Secretariat for Non-Governmental Organizations, and Dr. Subhani Keerthiratne, Director of the FIU signed the MOU on behalf of the respective institutions at the Central Bank on Monday.

The MOU was signed in the presence of Dr. P Nandalal Weerasinghe, the Governor of the CBSL, in the capacity as the Chairman of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) National Coordinating Committee. Mrs. K M A N Daulagala, Senior Deputy Governor of the CBSL and Mrs. E H Mohotty, Assistant Governor of the CBSL also graced the event.

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) could be misused for ML/TF and related crimes and thereby could threaten the stability of the national and global economic and financial systems. The National Secretariat for Non-Governmental Organizations is responsible for registering NGOs, monitoring their activities, providing facilities, and taking action against any misconduct etc. This MOU will facilitate the National Secretariat for Non-Governmental Organizations to exchange information with the FIU relating to any incident, investigation or prosecution stemming from the activities carried out by the National Secretariat or on any person connected to such activity, which will be an important aspect in prevention, detection and prosecution of ML/TF and related crimes. 

With the signing of this MOU, the FIU has entered into 16 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, Registrar General’s Department etc., to share information to strengthen the AML/CFT framework of the country. The FIU has entered into 45 MOUs with foreign counterparts as well. (Newswire)

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Steps have been taken to register all non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with the National Secretariat for NGOs, Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles said.

According to the President’s Media Unit (PMD), the Minister of Public Security stated that measures will be taken to prohibit any NGOs that are not registered in Sri Lanka.

Minister Alles further stated that the Police Department is working on a non-political agenda and is always committed to protecting the law and order of the country at the highest level.

The minister emphasized that necessary measures have been taken as a responsible government to stop hindrances to the lives of the people. 

He stated that the program to suppress the underworld has already been implemented under the instructions given by President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The Minister of Public Security made the remarks at a press conference held at the Presidential Media Centre (PMC) yesterday (Aug. 28).

Minister Alles stated that necessary measures have been taken to stop shootings between underworld gangs.

“Currently, the Police Department is working on a non-political agenda. All the necessary facilities have been provided. It has been about a year since the current government took office, so not everything can be accomplished within a year. However, the Police Department has undertaken a significant amount of work. The Police Department currently comprises around 85,000 officers. The ministry has developed a special program to eradicate narcotic drugs from the country. Underworld activities in the South have been on the rise consistently. Due to this, the Special Task Force, the police and other security forces jointly started special operations in such areas. As a result, it has been possible to eliminate to some extent the underworld activities in the southern province. At present, there are a number of reports of shootings between groups of underworld gangs. They murder each other. Necessary measures have already been taken to stop such activities of the underworld gangs. Security forces have also been instructed to shoot if necessary. As a responsible government, no activity that harms the lives of the people will be tolerated,” he said.

The Minister revealed that based on President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s instructions, the Catholic Church has been provided with a copy of the complete investigation report concerning the Easter attack.

“The Catholic Church should also extend its support to the police investigations into the Easter attack,” he said.

Minister Alles pointed out that the Department of Immigration and Emigration, which falls under my ministry, has initiated the process of issuing passports through an online system. 

“In the past, various types of scams occurred. Now through this new online system, we have completely stopped the possibility of such fraudulent activities. There are 51 centres that have already been established island-wide to facilitate necessary fingerprint scanning for new passports. Therefore, people can have their passports delivered to their doorstep within a few days.

“We have taken the necessary steps to enhance the facilities related to the efficient operation of the department. In some cases, system errors and crashes may occur. Therefore, we must implement modern technology to prevent such issues,” he said. (NewsWire)

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The Bambalapitiya Police has launched a probe into an incident of assault reported at a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in Colombo.

According to the Daily News, the Secretary of the NGO is reported to have been allegedly assaulted by one of the Executive Directors of the organization, who is a Bangladesh national.

The Police stated that the incident is reported to have taken place at the NGO’s office in Colombo 05 on Thursday (23).

They stated that the Executive Director had filed a complaint first accusing the Secretary of having assaulted him.

In his complaint, the Executive Director claimed that the secretary in question had been working in the organization for over 12 years on a contract basis and that the organization has decided not to extend her term of service.

He further claimed that the Secretary had become enraged after being informed of the management’s decision. 

The Police stated that, however, the Secretary had filed a complaint with the Police accusing the Executive Director of having assaulted her and that she wanted to get hospitalized due to the assault.

The Police revealed that they had not received any information with regard to the hospitalization as of last evening (24).

As two complaints have been filed over the incident, the Police stated that two separate probes will be launched into the matter. (NewsWire)

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