Bank of Ceylon, People’s Bank slapped with administrative penalties

Two of Sri Lanka’s largest commercial banks have been penalised by the Central Bank for non-compliance with the provisions of the Financial Transactions Reporting Act. 
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Central Bank announced yesterday that state-owned banks Bank of Ceylon and People’s Bank as well as MMBL Money Transfer have been penalised. The FIU collected Rs.14 million for the period from September 27 to December 31, 2023, which has been credited to the Consolidated Fund.
Bank of Ceylon was fined Rs.6 million for failing to obtain approval from its senior management when entering into business relationships with several politically exposed persons (PEPs). Additionally, there were significant delays in obtaining the senior management’s approval for such relationships with the PEPs. 

People’s Bank was fined Rs.7 million for failing to comply with the suspension orders issued by the FIU and subsequent orders extended by the High Court of Colombo. The bank conducted debit transactions through the suspended accounts and also failed to obtain approval from its senior management when entering into business relationships with several PEPs. MMBL Money Transfer was penalised Rs.1 million for not implementing a mechanism to monitor the activities of its agents and to verify whether such agents are operating in line with the anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism requirements of
the country.