By virtue of the powers vested under Section 19 (1) read together with section 19 (2) of the Financial Transactions Reporting Act, No. 6 of 2006 (FTRA), financial penalties are imposed on Institutions for non-compliance with the provisions of the FTRA. The penalty may be prescribed taking into consideration the nature and gravity of relevant non- compliance of the Financial Institution.

Accordingly, as Sri Lanka’s regulator for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT), the FIU collected penalties as indicated below, amounting to Rs. 1.5 million in total for the period from 1 October 2021 to 31 December 2021 to enforce compliance on Financial Institutions. The money collected as penalties were credited to the Consolidated Fund.

With the intention of attracting foreign currency in the hands of the public into the formal banking system, the Minister of Finance has issued an Order under Section 8 of the Foreign Exchange Act No. 12 of 2017 as follows: 

1. Reducing the amount of foreign currency retained in possession by a person in, or resident in, Sri Lanka from USD 15,000 to USD 10,000 or its equivalent in other foreign currencies.
2. Granting an amnesty period of 14 working days effective from the date of the Order (16 June 2022) for persons in, or resident in, Sri Lanka who hold foreign currency notes in possession for the following:

i.To deposit into a Personal Foreign Currency Account or into a Business Foreign Currency Account as specified in the Order, or