In a significant move to strengthen its capabilities in combating money laundering and terrorist financing, Sri Lanka’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-Sri Lanka) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Center for Financial Information in the Sultanate of Oman (NCFI-Oman). The agreement was formalized on July 9, 2025, during the 31st Plenary of the Egmont Group held in Luxembourg, marking another milestone in Sri Lanka’s growing network of international intelligence cooperation.
The MoU facilitates the exchange of financial intelligence on money laundering (ML), associated predicate offences, and terrorist financing (TF) between the two countries, under the legal framework of Sri Lanka’s Financial Transactions Reporting Act No. 6 of 2006. This move reflects Sri Lanka’s ongoing commitment to aligning with global standards in Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT).
The agreement was signed by Dr. Subhani Keerthiratne, Director of FIU-Sri Lanka, and Colonel Abdul Rahman Amur Al-Kiyumi, Executive President of NCFI-Oman. The NCFI is Oman’s central body for gathering, analyzing, and exchanging data related to criminal proceeds, money laundering, and terrorist financing activities.
With the addition of Oman, FIU-Sri Lanka now maintains MoUs with 46 foreign counterpart agencies, enabling it to share critical intelligence and strengthen cross-border surveillance. These agreements are particularly vital in disrupting complex international financial crime networks, which often exploit gaps in inter-jurisdictional cooperation.
FIU-Sri Lanka plays a central role in the country’s AML/CFT framework. It functions under the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and is tasked with receiving, analyzing, and disseminating information on suspicious financial activities. Its mission includes ensuring financial system integrity by working closely with regulatory bodies, law enforcement, and international partners.
The Central Bank, through the FIU, has also been intensifying its cooperation with global organizations such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), and the Egmont Group—an international network of over 170 FIUs. These partnerships help Sri Lanka meet global compliance requirements and bolster efforts to exit grey-list monitoring, if applicable.
Recent initiatives include enhanced digital surveillance tools, risk-based supervision of reporting institutions, training programs, and legislative reforms. The Central Bank is also working to close regulatory loopholes and improve enforcement in areas such as virtual asset transactions and non-financial business sectors.
As financial crime evolves in complexity and scale, the Central Bank and its intelligence arm continue to invest in cross-border cooperation, technology, and legal infrastructure, demonstrating Sri Lanka’s firm resolve to safeguard its financial ecosystem.
