IRCSL and FIU sign terms of reference for joint AML supervision

The Insurance Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (IRCSL) entered into a formal Terms of Reference (TOR) with the Financial Intelligence Unit of Sri Lanka (FIU) last week to facilitate joint supervision of licensed insurance companies and licensed insurance brokering companies for compliance with Anti-Money Laundering, Countering the Financing of Terrorism, and Countering the Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (AML/CFT/CPF) laws.

Compliance with the AML/CFT/CPF legal framework is essential for insurance sector participants in preventing money laundering, terrorist financing, and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction threats that could undermine the stability of domestic and global economic and financial systems.

The IRCSL previously entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the FIU in 2018 to establish a framework for sharing supervisory findings based on comprehensive risk-based supervision focused on AML/CFT/CPF compliance in the insurance sector.

Under Section 23 of the Financial Transactions Reporting Act, No. 6 of 2006 (FTRA), the IRCSL, as the regulatory and supervisory body of the insurance sector, conducts risk-based supervision on AML/CFT/CPF compliance jointly with the FIU.

The newly signed TOR provides a detailed framework outlining the scope, objectives, and responsibilities of the IRCSL and the FIU for joint supervision.

Picture: Damayanthi Fernando, Director General of IRCSL, and Dr. Subhani Keerthiratne, Director–FIU, signed on behalf of their respective institutions in the presence of Dr. Ajith De Mel, Chairman of IRCSL. Rajan Nirubasingham, Director Legal and Enforcement; Thushari Wijegunawardena, Assistant Director of the AML/CFT unit of IRCSL; and Theja Pathberiya, Deputy Director; Hashini Rangika, Head of Supervision Division; and Subodha Weerasuriya, Assistant Director of FIU were also present at the signing of the TOR.