The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the implementation of Sri Lanka’s National Policy on Anti-Money Laundering, Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) and Countering Proliferation Financing (CPF) for the period 2026 to 2030.
The policy was cleared on a proposal submitted by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in his capacity as Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies.
It was drawn up on the findings of Sri Lanka’s Third National Risk Assessment on financial crimes, carried out by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka during 2024 and 2025, in line with the standards and recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) — the global intergovernmental body that sets policy to combat financial crime.
The government said money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction continue to pose significant risks to the economy, to financial stability and to the integrity of the global financial system. It noted that the rapid advance of technology and the growing complexity of financial transactions have made it harder to identify, trace and freeze assets derived from criminal activity.
The new policy comes against a backdrop of cyber-security incidents in the banking system, according to EconomyNext, which reported that recent breaches included a US$2.5 million fraud involving treasury funds.
The 2026–2030 framework is intended to address the vulnerabilities flagged in the national risk assessment and to strengthen the country’s defences against financial crime, an area closely watched by the FATF and international lenders as Sri Lanka rebuilds its economy.
