COLOMBO, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka has intensified efforts to strengthen its legal and institutional framework against money laundering and terrorist financing as the government prepares for its third mutual evaluation under international standards, the President's Media Division (PMD) said in a statement on Tuesday.
The PMD said that a high-level discussion reviewed progress on meeting requirements set by the Financial Action Task Force, which has issued 40 recommendations for countries to combat illicit financial flows and proliferation financing.
The mutual evaluation involves about 25 government institutions and is coordinated domestically by the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
Officials have been urged to expedite pending legal amendments, address staff shortages, speed up recruitment and promotions, and retain trained officers in their current posts to avoid delays.
Sri Lanka previously faced setbacks during earlier evaluations, including a period of international greylisting, and the government aims to restore credibility and ensure full compliance ahead of the assessment scheduled for November, according to the PMD. ■