CBSL slaps Rs. 6.5 m fine on one bank, two casinos for AML/CFT non-compliance

THE Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) said yesterday it has slapped a Rs. 6.5 million combined fine on one bank and two casinos for noncompliance of the provisions of the Financial Transactions Reporting Act (FTRA).

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Regulator for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/ CFT), the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) collected penalties of Rs. 3.5 million from National Savings Bank, Rs. 1.5 million from Bally's Ltd., and Rs. 1.5 million from Bellagio Ltd., from January to June 2025 to enforce compliance on the institutions. The money collected as penalties was credited to the Consolidated Fund.

By virtue of the powers vested under Section 19 (1) read together with Section 19 (2) of the FTRA, No. 6 of 2006, financial penalties are imposed on institutions for noncompliance with the provisions of the FTRA. The penalty may be prescribed by taking into consideration the nature and gravity of the relevant non-compliances of the institutions.

The administrative penalties were imposed for failure to adhere to the FTRA in relation to reporting of financial transactions.

The CBSL in a statement listed the following actions:

1. National Savings Bank

Date of imposition: 16 April 2025

Amount: Rs. 3,500,000.00 (Three Million and Five Hundred Thousand Rupees)

Date of payment: 2 May 2025

Reasons for the imposition of the penalty: The administrative penalty was imposed for the failure of the bank to adhere to the FTRA, and rules, regulations, and directives issued thereunder as follows:

i. The bank had failed to report several cash transactions and Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) transactions, where the amount of such transactions exceeded Rupees One Million (Rs. 1,000,000) or its equivalent in any foreign currency, to the FIU, within the specified period of 31 days.