Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in his capacity as the Chairman of the National Coordinating Committee (NCC) on Anti Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT), represented the Sri Lankan delegation to the 2023 Annual Plenary of the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) and the ensuing Technical Assistance and Training (TA&T) Forum held in Vancouver, Canada from 11 – 14 July 2023. The Sri Lankan delegation consisted of the expert assessors participating in the respective Mutual Evaluations of the Peoples’ Democratic Republic of Lao (Lao PDR), Nepal and Brunei. The annual Plenary brought together over 300 delegates from the 42 APG member countries, observer institutions and jurisdictions, and private sector stakeholders to discuss issues concerning countering serious financial crime, including money laundering (ML), terrorist financing (TF), and proliferation financing relating to weapons of mass destruction (PF).
The 2023 APG was co-chaired by Messrs. Julien Brazeau, the Associate Assistant Deputy Minister of Finance from the Department of Finance of Canada, and Ian McCartney, the Deputy Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police, Australia.
During the Plenary, two Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) were signed between the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Sri Lanka and the FIUs of Timor Leste and Lao PDR. These MOUs would assist to enhance international cooperation and collaboration in combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing (ML/TF) between the respective jurisdictions. Governor Weerasinghe, provided leadership in facilitating these partnerships, reflecting Sri Lanka's commitment to strengthening international ties in the fight against illicit financial activities.