Financial Transactions Reporting (Amendment) Act 2026 · As enacted
22. Replacement of section 19 of the principal enactment
Official English translation. Where it differs from the Sinhala or Tamil text, the Act itself says which text prevails.
Official translationFrom Department of Government Printing, unchanged
Section 19 of the principal enactment is hereby repealed and the following section is substituted therefor: -
19.
“Imposition of administrative sanctions to enforce compliance
A person who contravenes or fails to comply with –
any provision of this Act or any regulation, rule or Order made or issued thereunder;
any condition or restriction imposed on such person under this
Act; or
any written notice, directive or any other requirement issued or imposed on such person under this
Act, shall be liable to one or more of the administrative sanctions, imposed by the
Head of the Financial Intelligence Unit, taking into consideration the nature and gravity of the contravention or the failure and where relevant, subsequent action taken by such person to rectify the contravention or the failure. The Head of the Financial Intelligence
Unit shall, before imposing any administrative sanction, give such person an opportunity of showing cause as to why such sanction shall not be imposed on him.
An administrative sanction referred to in subsection (1) may be –
a written warning;
an order requiring remedial action to be taken within a stipulated time;
a public statement;
a cease-and-desist order;
a monetary penalty;
Financial Transactions Reporting
recommending to the supervisory, regulatory, self - regulatory, licensing or registration authority of an
Institution, as the case may be, to –
issue a written warning;
suspend or restrict the licence, or prohibit the continuation, of the business or profession undertaken by an
Institution;
revoke the licence of an
Institution; or
impose a penalty in terms of the provisions of the relevant written law, or impose a time bar or restriction on a person from engaging in employment, trade, business or profession within the sector relevant to the supervisory, regulatory, self-regulatory, licensing or registration authority, as may be permitted in terms of any applicable written law for the regulation or supervision of such
Institution.
(a) The monetary penalty that may be imposed on a person under this section for any given case or instance of contravention or failure, shall not exceed a sum of rupees one hundred million.
In the event of any subsequent contravention or failure made by the person referred to in paragraph (a), such person shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding a sum of rupees two hundred million.
The Head of the Financial Intelligence
Unit shall be responsible for the collection of a monetary penalty imposed under this section and the money so collected shall be credited to the Consolidated Fund.
If a person who is liable to a monetary penalty imposed under this section fails to pay such monetary penalty, the Head of the
Financial Intelligence Unit may make an ex parte application to the High Court of the
Western Province holden in Colombo for an order requiring the payment of the monetary penalty, and upon such order being made such amount shall be recoverable in the same manner as a fine imposed by the Court. The High Court shall issue notice of such application prior to making an order.
The imposition of an administrative sanction under this section shall not preclude a supervisory, regulatory, self-regulatory, licensing or registration authority of an
Financial Transactions Reporting
Institution from taking any regulatory or disciplinary measures including, but not limited to, the suspension of such Institution from the carrying on of a business or profession or the revocation of a licence or authority granted for the carrying on of a business or profession, as may be permitted in terms of any applicable written law or rules for the regulation or supervision of such Institution.
Where a monetary penalty is imposed on a body of persons under this section then –
if that body of persons is a body corporate, every person who at the time of the imposition of the monetary penalty is a director, general manager, secretary or other similar officer of that body; or
if that body of persons is not a body corporate, every person who at the time of the imposition of the monetary penalty is the chairperson, manager, secretary, partner, member or other similar officer of that body, shall be liable to pay such monetary penalty, unless he proves that he had no knowledge of the contravention or the failure, or that he exercised all due diligence to ensure compliance with the relevant provisions of this
Act or any regulation, rule, Order, condition, restriction, notice, directive or other directive, made, issued or imposed under this Act.
Where a person fails to comply with an order requiring any remedial action or a cease-and-desist order issued under subsection (1), the Head of the Financial Intelligence Unit may, upon application to the High Court of the Western Province holden in Colombo and upon satisfying the Court that such person has failed without reasonable excuse to comply in whole or in part with such order, obtain an order against such person and any or all of the officers or employees of such person subject to such terms as the Court may deem necessary to enforce compliance with such obligation.”.