The first review of the three-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) obtained by Sri Lanka has been successfully completed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the second tranche to the value of SDR 119.894 million (approximately US dollars 162.6 million) has been disbursed on 18 November 2016.
The EFF aims at supporting the balance of payments and the broad economic reform agenda of the government. The IMF mission, that visited Sri Lanka in September, particularly welcomed the fiscal consolidation measures implemented by the Government and tightening of monetary policy, which has contributed to improved market confidence and an easing of pressures on the external sector. The mission appreciated the efforts of the government and other institutions in achieving all quantitative performance criteria through end-June. The members of the IMF Executive Board also have expressed their satisfaction on the achievements of Sri Lanka under the ongoing EFF programme.
In terms of the provisions of the Financial Transactions Reporting Act, No. 6 of 2006 (FTRA), the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Sri Lanka entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Department of Inland Revenue on October 19, 2016 at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to exchange information in order to facilitate investigations and prosecutions on money laundering and terrorist financing. Mrs. Kalyani Dahanayake, Commissioner General, Department of Inland Revenue and Mr. H. Amarathunga, Director, FIU signed the MOU on behalf of the respective institutions in the presence of Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, who is also the Chairman of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) National Coordinating Committee.
