The Central Bank still has no plan to curb money laundering rackets - Harsha

Although the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank had provided intelligence information regarding potential money laundering rackets occurring through the market from 2024, no proper measures have been taken to prevent such illegal attempts to date, Parliamentarian Dr. Harsha de Silva stated in Parliament yesterday.

Dr. Harsha de Silva, who serves as the Chairman of the Committee on Public Finance (CoPF), made this revelation following the disclosure that a massive sum of USD 715 million had been siphoned out of the country through fraudulent import documents.

He further emphasized the urgent need for proper enforcement of existing laws and regulations to prevent such financial crimes.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Finance Anil Jayanth stated that new laws and regulations would be introduced to rectify this situation.

He mentioned that new laws are essential to classify the offense as a crime and impose corresponding penalties on offenders, as existing laws only allow for fines.

However, MP Harsha de Silva pointed out that instead of attempting to introduce new laws, the current government should focus on implementing the legal amendments approved by the Cabinet in 2019.

He stated that although the relevant draft legal amendments, which received Cabinet approval, were referred to the Legal Draftsman for preparation, the Legal Draftsman's office has failed to complete it over the past six years.

The MP revealed that the Committee on Public Finance has extensively examined all these matters and noted that a similar irregular situation exists concerning the gambling and casino industries.

He further stated that although an institution has been established to regulate casinos, they are not properly controlled due to the lack of proper laws and regulations for implementation.

Furthermore, the MP stated that his committee's investigations have revealed approximately 500 companies involved in the import sector that lack verified addresses and Articles of Association, which are essential for company registration.

He also mentioned that the Department of Inland Revenue has revealed that some casino establishments engaged in betting services are not paying any taxes.