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TISL welcomes passage of Proceeds of Crime Act
The Proceeds of Crime Act’s introduction of non-conviction based asset forfeiture would strengthen Lanka’s legal tools for recovering illicit assets, including those held abroad, Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) said in a statement.
It welcomed the passage of the Proceeds of Crime Act, which was approved by Parliament on 08 April 2025. This is a landmark development in Sri Lanka’s anti-corruption and asset recovery framework, filling a long-standing legal gap and introducing powerful tools to combat illicit enrichment and the flow of black money.
TISL commends the work of the drafting committee for navigating the complexity of this legislation, which is designed to ensure that stolen assets are recovered and redirected for public benefit.
The new law introduces mechanisms for identifying, freezing, seizing, and confiscating the proceeds of crime, including in cases where a criminal conviction may not be possible. Notably, it provides for non-conviction-based forfeiture, a shift in the burden of proof in specific proceedings, and robust channels for international cooperation in tracing assets hidden across borders.
These legal tools are crucial in addressing grand corruption, where assets are often laundered through sophisticated local and global networks. Without such mechanisms, Sri Lanka has historically struggled to recover stolen public funds.
Importantly, the law focuses on the recovery of illicit assets rather than the prosecution of offenders. This is a critical strategy to disrupt the financial rewards of corruption and weaken the foundations of kleptocracy.
TISL also draws attention to several concerns that must be addressed to ensure the Act’s successful implementation. Stronger safeguards and judicial oversight are necessary within investigation processes to prevent the misuse of powers and uphold due process. The Proceeds of Crime Management Authority (PCMA) must function with the highest standards of transparency, and board members should be adequately and fairly compensated to attract qualified professionals and reduce corruption risks. Likewise, the Victims of Crime Reparations Trust Fund must be governed with clear selection criteria, term limits, disqualification processes, and strong conflict-of-interest safeguards to maintain public trust.
In addition to implementation issues, TISL remains concerned about broader challenges in Sri Lanka’s legislative process. The development of this law highlighted continued translation errors from English to Sinhala, which risk undermining its intent and application—particularly since the Sinhala version has legal precedence. These issues reinforce the need for institutionalised mechanisms for public and expert participation from the earliest stages of lawmaking, to ensure clarity, coherence, and alignment with the public interest and international standards.
Looking ahead, TISL urges the government and implementing institutions to ensure that the Proceeds of Crime Act is applied with integrity, fairness, and transparency. This includes the responsible and open management of recovered assets, robust public oversight, and ensuring that these powerful tools are used proportionately and in line with the law’s intended focus on grand corruption and serious crime. The ultimate goal must remain clear: to ensure that corruption and crime do not pay—and that stolen wealth is returned to its rightful owners, whether individuals or the public at large.
TISL remains committed to supporting the effective implementation of this law, for which it has long advocated, and will continue to push for transparency, accountability, and public participation across every stage of Sri Lanka’s reform journey, it said.
Former Deputy Secretary General of Parliament, Chaminda Kularatne, yesterday (18) filed a writ petition before the Court of Appeal, seeking to nullify the decision to interdict him from duty without a proper inquiry
Chaminda Kularatne was suspended from his post with effect from 23 January.
The decision to suspend him was taken by the Parliament Staff Advisory Committee (SAC), chaired by Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne.
The government has alleged that the suspension was ordered due to irregularities relating to Kularatne’s appointment to that position.
Dr. Kristalina Georgieva, the Managing Director (MD) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), visited the Central Bank of Sri Lanka on 17 February 2026 during her visit to Sri Lanka. This coincides with the 75th anniversary of Sri Lanka’s IMF membership as well as the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s 75th anniversary. At a meeting held at the Central Bank premises, Dr. Georgieva met Governor,
Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, and senior officials of the Central Bank.
During this meeting, Governor expressed sincere gratitude to the MD and her team for the steadfast support provided under the current Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and for actively facilitating the completion of the debt restructuring process, helping the country recover from the unprecedented economic hardship. Dr. Weerasinghe also expressed gratitude to the IMF for the extensive technical assistance provided across multiple areas, including monetary policy and modelling, macroprudential analysis, and financial sector policies.
Dr. Geogeiva recognised Sri Lanka’s performance under the current IMF programme as a success story. The MD also acknowledged the Central Bank’s role in restoring macroeconomic stability following the economic crisis. While noting the repeated setbacks Sri Lanka has faced in recent years, she expressed confidence that the country is poised to achieve higher growth, provided that necessary structural reforms are initiated and sustained.
Jaffna District MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam has raised serious concerns over the conduct of the police following the fatal shooting of a teenager in Jaffna, warning that those accused of wrongdoing were often the very ones tasked with investigating it.
The MP said so in responding to the incident at Allaipiddy, where a young boy was killed in police fire on a vehicle that had allegedly failed to comply with an order to stop.
Ponnambalam said that the use of lethal force could not be justified in post-conflict situation under any circumstances. The MP pointed out that President Dissanayake himself is able to move freely through the streets of Jaffna, and, therefore, the use of deadly force by police, in such a setting ,is indefensible.
“If the police instruct a vehicle to stop and the driver fails to comply, the officers may take necessary measures to bring the vehicle to a halt — but they cannot shoot and kill the driver.”
He also raised questions regarding claims made by police about items allegedly found in the vehicle. Referring to reports that cowdung had been found in the van, Ponnambalam said that the material appeared to have been placed there deliberately.
Against this backdrop, Ponnambalam expressed deep skepticism over whether a fair and impartial investigation would be carried out. He stated that the current legal and security framework enables such abuses, noting that under emergency regulations, the police are granted powers similar to those of the military. He recalled that during earlier periods of emergency rule in the North and East, both police and military personnel were implicated in numerous offences and shielded from accountability through those same provisions.
He stressed that even if an individual is suspected of criminal activity, it is unacceptable for police to use lethal force in this manner. “A proper and just investigation must be carried out,” he said.
Highlighting what he described as a systemic failure of accountability, Ponnambalam added that in Sri Lanka, “those accused of committing crimes are themselves tasked with investigating the allegations against them.” In this case, he noted, the same Sri Lankan police officers accused in the shooting are reportedly conducting the investigation.
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