Sri Lanka Central Bank’s new agreement sparks concerns over NGO surveillance

by admin
Nov 13, 2024

 In a move that has raised concerns over government scrutiny of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Sri Lanka’s Central Bank has signed an agreement to expand the exchange of information on investigations and prosecutions involving money laundering, terrorist financing, and related activities connected to NGOs.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed between the Central Bank’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the National Secretariat for NGOs on November 4, has formalized cooperation for sharing details of any investigation or prosecution linked to NGOs or individuals associated with them. Citing potential threats to "national and global economic and financial systems,” the Central Bank stated that NGOs could be vulnerable to exploitation for financial crimes.

This partnership grants the National Secretariat for NGOs, which oversees NGO registration and monitoring, new powers to share detailed information on NGO activities and personnel with the FIU. According to the Central Bank, this exchange aims to enhance the detection and prosecution of financial crimes. However, this could open the door to heightened surveillance of NGOs operating in Sri Lanka, potentially affecting humanitarian and advocacy groups.

The signing ceremony was attended by Sanjeewa Wimalagunarathna, the Director General of the National Secretariat for NGOs, and Subhani Keerthiratne, Director of the FIU, under the oversight of Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe, who chairs the national Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Committee. While this is being framed as a safeguard against illicit financing, the agreement allows for increased scrutiny of NGOs might be used as a tool for government overreach, potentially stifling organizations critical of the administration.

This is not the first time that government agencies have sought control over the work of NGOs operating in Sri Lanka. During Ranil Wickremesinghe's government, the then Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles has called for the mandatory registration of non-governmental organisations, “so that we can monitor them closely”.  The Minister’s call for closer monitoring follows a speech in which Milan Jayathilake MP decried NGOs as a “threat to national security”.

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