The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has entered into a key partnership with the National Center for Financial Information in Oman (NCFI-Oman) to enhance cross-border cooperation in combating money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF).
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed during the 31st Plenary of the Egmont Group held in Luxembourg, a global network of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) committed to strengthening international collaboration in financial crime detection.
According to a statement by the CBSL, the agreement will enable the exchange of financial intelligence related to ML, associated predicate offences, and TF, in line with Sri Lanka’s Financial Transactions Reporting Act, No. 6 of 2006.
“This MoU is part of our broader strategy to collaborate globally and strengthen Sri Lanka’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework,” the FIU-Sri Lanka said. “Sharing information across borders is essential to dismantling sophisticated financial crime networks.”
The FIU-Sri Lanka, the national focal point for AML/CFT efforts, collects, analyzes, and disseminates data on suspicious financial activities. Its counterpart in Oman, NCFI-Oman, is similarly mandated to analyze financial reports and intelligence suspected of links to proceeds of crime, money laundering, or terrorist financing.
The MoU was signed by Dr. Subhani Keerthiratne, Director of FIU-Sri Lanka, and Colonel Abdul Rahman Amur Al-Kiyumi, Executive President of NCFI-Oman.
With this agreement, Sri Lanka has now formalized intelligence-sharing arrangements with 46 foreign FIUs, a significant step in bolstering global efforts against illicit financial flows.
