Sri Lankan casinos fined Rs.3 mn for anti-money laundering violations

Two Sri Lankan casinos - Bally’s Ltd and Bellagio Ltd - have been fined Rs.1.5 million each by the Central Bank (CB) for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) violations, the CB said on Wednesday.

Their fines were due to have been paid on April 29, 2025. Separately the National Savings Bank (NSB) was fined Rs. 3.5 million under the same violations.

The money collected as penalties was credited to the Consolidated Fund.

In the case of the NSB, the statement said the bank had failed to report several cash transactions and Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) transactions, where the amount of such transactions exceeded Rs. 1 million or its equivalent in any foreign currency, to the CB’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), within the specified period of 31 days.

The bank had failed to comply with the suspension orders issued by the FIU and subsequently extended by the High Court of the Western Province, holden in Colombo, by conducting debit transactions through several suspended accounts.

In the case of Bally’s Ltd, the administrative penalty was imposed for the failure of the company to adhere to the FTRA, and rules, regulations and directives issued thereunder and failed to obtain a copy of the identification document from the customers who have established business relationships through the online platforms.

Bellagio Ltd was fined for the failure of the company for the same reasons as above.