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Sri Lanka’s casinos, real estate and the gem and jewellery business have been identified as ‘high risk” areas requiring proper supervision of financial institutions by the European Commission.

This follows a vote that fell short of the threshold of 376 votes to over-turn the country being listed as a jurisdiction with strategic deficiencies in its anti-money laundering regime. This week, 357 members of the European Parliament (MEP) voted for an ‘Objection Motion’ to override the European Commission’s listing of Sri Lanka as a “high risk” country engaged in money-laundering – 19 short of the 376 mandatory threshold.

Twenty six (26) MEPs abstained from voting.Sri Lanka failed to clear its name on grounds that it had not implemented the EU’s Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations made at its meeting in Buenos Aires in October last year and agreed through the International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG).

Among the time bound Action Plan is for Sri Lanka to show its record on the implementation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions on sanctions against Iran and North Korea.

The European Commission made the following statement against Sri Lanka (quoting from the FATF decision); “Sri Lanka shows deficiencies in international cooperation, in particular the provision of mutual legal assistance, in appropriate regulation and supervision of the non-financial sector, customer due diligence requirements for designated non-financial businesses and professions, weaknesses in risk-based supervision in the financial sector with low level of sanctions, shortcomings in relation to beneficial ownership of information for legal persons”.

Prior to the vote, MEP Cristian Preda asked European parliamentarians to consider Sri Lanka lightly, given the fact that a new Government in Colombo is trying to fix long-standing problems, and that the EU Parliament voting against Sri Lanka will send mixed signals so soon after the EU restored the GSP Plus facilities and lifted the ban on the import of fish products.

The EU Parliament decision, however, will not have punitive intent and not restricted to trade and not on financial transactions.
The FATF Action Plan was taken up for discussion by the Cabinet Committee for Economic Management (CCEM) chaired by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on January 3.

Finance Ministry sources said that they too had met on the matter late last year, and added that the Government, and especially the Central Bank would need to take serious note of the EU vote. They recalled the 2012 ‘yellow card’ that was issued to Sri Lanka on illegal fishing methods. This was ignored and led to the country receiving a ‘red card’ and a total ban on fish exports to all EU countries. It had taken 20 months to lift the ban.

Only 79 MPs at special debate on commission reports
Only 79 MPs from the 225 in Parliament were present when a special session of the House was summoned on Tuesday (February 6) to debate the report of the Commission of Inquiry to investigate the Issuance of Treasury Bonds by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL); and of the Commission of Inquiry to investigate the Serious Acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power, State Resources and Privileges (PRECIFAC).

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya summoned the House on a request by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe after members of the Joint Opposition group and the JVP wanted the two reports debated before the local council polls.

Among the notable absentees were former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and several ministers. Most were busy campaigning for the elections. The adjourned debate will resume on February 21 and conclude on February 22. Rajapaksa told local polls rallies that he proposed to speak on the last day of the debate.

JVP MP wants state medical faculty for Uva
While the controversy over private medical faculties has become an explosive issue in the country, JVP Kalutara District Parliamentarian (Dr.) Nalinda Jayathissa has recommended the setting up of a state medical faculty affiliated to the Uva Wellassa University, using Badulla General Hospital as a teaching hospital.

The JVP MP has, in a Private Members Motion to Parliament, said the setting up of such a faculty would help strengthen state education and improve health services. He says only 50 percent of the number of doctors required were maintaining the country’s health services at an optimum level while a large number of students who obtain high marks in the (G.C.E. Advanced Level) Biology stream are unable to enter state medical faculties.

Parippu crisis at freedom day banquet
When the Sri Lanka Mission to the United Nations hosted a colourful national day event at a high school in the Staten Island borough of New York last week, it was one of the biggest gathering of expatriates. More than 900 expats turned out to listen to speeches and official messages, watch a concert displaying local Sri Lankan talent and partake of a dinner worthy of a royal feast.

Catered by Chef Sanjay Handapangoda of Randiwa restaurant, the menu included over 900 portions of basmathi rice, prawn curry, dhal, mixed vegetables and pol sambol. The entire event took place with clockwork precision—but only one shortcoming.

As the guests lined up for dinner at the cavernous school cafeteria, the chef ran out of dhal, proving that the staple food of expatriate Sri Lankans was not rice but parippu.

As one expatriate jokingly reminded Ambassador Rohan Perera, a distinguished old Thomian, that in a bygone era in the 1960s and 70s when dhal suddenly became a scarce commodity due to a shortage of foreign exchange, the Thomians refused to shout “Royal parippu”, a long-time contemptuous slogan, at the annual Royal-Thomian Battle of the Blues.