Proceeds of Crime Act 2025 · As enacted · Part XI · Miscellaneous Provisions
150. Definitions
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
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -
“account” means any facility or arrangement by which a financial institution does any of the following:
accepts deposits of currency;
allows withdrawals of currency; or
pays cheques or payment orders drawn on the Institution or collects cheques or payment orders on behalf of a person other than the financial Institution, and includes any facility or arrangement for a safety deposit box or any other form of safe deposit;
“Anti-Corruption Act” means the Anti-Corruption
Act, No. 9 of 2023;
“Assistance to and Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses Act” means the Assistance to and
Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses
Act, No.10 of 2023;
“Authority” means the Proceeds of Crime Management
Authority established under section 96 of this
Act;
“benefit” means an advantage, gain, service, profit, or payment of any kind, and the benefits that a person derives or obtains or that accrue to him including those that another person derives, obtains or that otherwise accrue to such other person, if such other person is –
under the control of;
is directed or requested by; or
has a matrimonial or family relationship or a significant importance to the first person;
“cash” means any coin or paper money that is designated as legal tender in the country of issue and includes -
bearer bonds;
travelers’ cheques;
postal notes; and
money orders;
“Civil Procedure Code” means the Civil Procedure
Code (Chapter 101);
“Code of Criminal Procedure Act” means the Code of
Criminal Procedure Act, No.15 of 1979;
“Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act”
means the Colombo Port City Economic
Commission Act, No. 11 of 2021;
“Commission” means the Commission to Investigate
Allegations of Bribery or Corruption established under section 3 of the Anti-Corruption Act;
“computer system” means a computer or group of interconnected computers, including through the internet or any other form of connectivity;
“Controlled delivery”
means the investigative technique of allowing a property suspected to be proceeds of crime to pass out of, pass through, or pass into, Sri Lanka or within one place to another in the territory of Sri Lanka, under the direct or indirect surveillance of an Investigation
Officer, for the purpose of achieving the objectives of this Act, including but not limited to –
enabling the further investigation of the offence suspected to have yielded such proceeds of crime and the committing of offences under this Act;
the identification of all persons involved in the commission of the afore-stated offences;
collection of evidence relating to such property including evidence relating to the source of money that enabled the procurement of such property and financial transactions relating to or arising out of such property and determining whether such property is proceeds of crime; or
tracing and identifying persons who are having dominion over such property and having beneficial interest in respect of such property;
“Convention on the Suppression of Terrorist Financing
Act” means the Convention on the Suppression of Terrorist Financing Act, No. 25 of 2005;
“Court” means the High Court of the Republic;
“Currency” means the currency of Sri Lanka or that of a foreign country that is designated as legal tender and which is customarily used and accepted as a medium of exchange in the country of issue;
“dealing with property” means-
a transfer or disposition of property;
making or receiving a gift of the property;
removing the property from Sri Lanka;
where the property is a debt owed to that person, making a payment to any person in reduction or full settlement of the amount of the debt;
using the property to obtain or extend credit, or using credit that is secured by the property; or
where the property is an interest in a partnership, doing anything to diminish the value of the partnership;
“designated non-finance business and professions”
includes –
a) casinos including a person who carries on a business of casinos through the internet and ship-based or vessel-based casinos;
real estate agents including property developers;
dealers in precious metals and dealers in precious and semi-precious stones, including but not limited to, metals and stones covered by the National Gem and
Jewellery Authority Act, No. 50 of 1993;
lawyers, notaries, other independent legal professionals and accountants, when they prepare for or carry out transactions for their clients in relation to any of the following activities: -
buying and selling of real estate;
managing of client money, securities or other property;
management of bank, savings or securities accounts;
organization of contributions for the creation, operation or management of companies; and
creation, operation or management of legal persons or legal arrangements and the buying and selling of business entities;
trust or company service provider not otherwise covered by this definition, which as a business, provides one or more of the following services to third parties: -
formation or management of legal persons or legal arrangements;
acting as, or arranging for another person to act as, a director or secretary of a company, partner of a partnership, or a similar position in relation to other legal persons;
providing a registered office, business address or accommodation, correspondence or administrative address for a company, partnership or any other legal person or legal arrangement;
acting as, or arranging for another person to act as, a trustee of an express trust; or
acting as, or arranging for another person to act as, a nominee shareholder for another person;
offshore units in accordance with the definitions provided for the same in other written laws;
any person engaged in any businesses specified in paragraphs (a) to (f) of this definition which shall be registered or licensed under the Colombo Port City
Economic Commission Act; and
such other business as may be prescribed from time to time by the Minister under section 29 of Financial Transaction
Reporting Act;
“digital currency”–
includes any digital representation of monetary value that–
is used as a medium of exchange, as valuable consideration to enable any transaction, or as a unit of account or store of value; and
may not be recognized as legal tender; and
does not include–
a transaction in which a merchant grants, as part of an affinity or rewards program, value that cannot be taken from or exchanged with the merchant for legal tender, bank credit or digital currency; or
a digital representation of value issued by or on behalf of a publisher and used solely within an online game, game platform, or family of games sold by the same publisher or offered on the same game platform;
“document” means any record of information, and includes -
anything on which there is writing;
anything on which there are marks, figures, symbols, or perforations having meaning for persons qualified to interpret them;
anything from which sounds, images or writings can be produced, with or without the aid of anything else;
a map, plan, drawing, photograph or similar thing; and
any of the above kept or maintained in electronic form, and includes a digital document.
“electronic” shall have the same meaning assigned to it by the Electronic Transactions Act, No.19 of 2006;
“Evidence Ordinance” means the Evidence Ordinance
(Chapter 14);
“finance business” includes any one of the following businesses or activities: -
banking business as defined in the
Banking Act, No. 30 of 1988 or any Act enacted in place thereof;
finance business as defined in the
Finance Business Act, No. 42 of 2011 or any Act enacted in place thereof;
any finance business carried on by any society registered under the Cooperative
Societies Law, No. 5 of 1972 or any Act enacted in place thereof;
any finance business carried on by the
Department of Samurdhi Development established by the Samurdhi Act, No.
1 of 2013 or any Act enacted in place thereof;
pawn brokering under the Pawn Brokers
Ordinance (Chapter 90) or any Act enacted in place thereof;
lending, including consumer credit, mortgage credit, factoring (with or without recourse) and financing of commercial transactions;
financial leasing other than transactions relating to consumer products;
money or value transfer services;
money and currency changing services;
issuing and managing means of payment
(such as credit cards, debit cards, travelers’ cheques, money orders and bankers’ drafts and electronic money;)
issuing financial guarantees and commitments, including but not limited to consumer credit, factoring (with or without recourse) and financing of commercial transactions including forfeiting;
trading for its own account or for the account of customers in money market instruments (such as cheques, bills of exchange, certificates of deposit and derivatives), foreign exchange, exchange, interest rate and index instruments, commodity futures trading and transferable securities;
participating in securities issues and the provision of financial services related to such issues;
individual and collective portfolio management;
investing, administering or managing funds or money on behalf of other persons;
safekeeping and administration of cash or liquid securities on behalf of other persons;
safe custody services;
underwriting and placement of life insurance and other investment related insurance, as well as insurance intermediation by agents and brokers;
trustee administration or investment management of a superannuation scheme;
any finance business carried out under the
Securities and Exchange Commission of
Sri Lanka Act, No. 19 of 2021 or any Act enacted in place thereof;
any finance business carried out under the Local Treasury Bills Ordinance
(Chapter 417) or any Act enacted in place thereof;
offshore units in the financial institutions in accordance with the definitions provided for the same in other written laws;
any person engaged in any businesses specified in paragraphs (a) to (u) of this definition which shall be registered or licensed under the Colombo Port City
Economic Commission Act;
providing virtual assets services; and
such other business as may be prescribed from time to time by the Minister under section 29 of the Financial Transaction
Reporting Act;
“financial institution” means any person engaged in or carrying out any finance business or designated non-finance business and profession, or business of providing virtual assets services within the meaning of the Financial Transactions Reporting
Act;
“Financial Intelligence Unit” means the Financial
Intelligence Unit of Sri Lanka established under the Financial Transactions Reporting Act;
“Financial Transaction Reporting Act” means the
Financial Transactions Reporting Act, No. 6 of 2006:
“forfeiture” means the conclusive right, title, and any interest or beneficial interest to a proceed of crime being vested in the state through a judicial order in the manner provided by this Act;
Clarification
Forfeiture need not be contingent upon a person being convicted of having committed the relevant unlawful activity;
“gift” means property given by one person to another person, and includes any transfer of property directly or indirectly;
after the commission of an unlawful activity by the first person;
to the extent of the difference between the market value of the property at the time of its transfer; and
the consideration provided by the transferee; or
the consideration paid by the transferor whichever is greater;
“information” includes any fact or message depicted by way of any letters, sentence or part thereof, symbol, image, pictorial, art, video, sound, code, or any other mode of communication, and contained in any physical or electronic media and may include anything communicated verbally which the recipient documents upon receipt of the communication;
“instrumentality” means any property which has been used by any person exclusively or partly to commit any unlawful activity, and the use of such property had in the circumstances pertaining to the committing of the unlawful activity been necessary, and such property may include any –
vehicle or other means of transport for carriage of persons or goods;
computer;
software application or programme;
physical or digital storage facility;
machine;
equipment; and
utensil, notwithstanding its value exceeding the value of the proceed of the unlawful activity, and the owner of such instrumentality not having participated in or intentionally aided the committing of the unlawful activity;
“interest” in relation to property, means:
a legal or equitable estate or interest in the property; or
a right, power or privilege in connection with the property;
“Judicature Act” means the Judicature Act, No. 2 of 1978;
“judicial freezing order” means a judicial order made by a court vested with jurisdiction to make such order, which causes a property which prima - facie appears to be proceeds of crime, of which the possession, custody, control and dominion to be vested in a person appointed by such court, for the protection, preservation and management of such property which may include its temporary use and utilize pending the conduct and completion of judicial proceedings to determine whether such property shall be forfeited to the state;
“law enforcement authority” includes the, Department of
Customs,
Excise
Department,
Forest
Conservation
Department,
Department of
Wildlife, Sri Lanka Coastguard, and any other statutorily created body empowered with the investigation of the commission of any offence;
“legal arrangement” includes an express trust, a fiduciary account or nominee;
“Minister” means the Minister assigned the subject of Justice under Article 44 or Article 45 of the
Constitution, ;
“Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act” means
Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act,
No.25 of 2002;
“Offences Against Public Property Act” means the
Offences against Public Property Act, No. 12 of 1982;
“peace officer” shall have the same meaning assigned to it in the Code of Criminal Procedure Act;
“Penal Code” means the Penal Code (Chapter 19);
“person” means any natural or legal person or any legal arrangement, including a body of persons whether it has legal personality or not, and may include a branch, office, or a place of business of any such person or body of persons whether incorporated, registered or otherwise established in or outside Sri Lanka:
“Prevention of Money Laundering Act” means the
Prevention of Money Laundering Act, No. 5 of 2006;
“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made under this Act;
“proceeds of crime” includes any property, benefit, service, or savings that is wholly or partly obtained, derived or realized directly or indirectly as a result of or in connection with the commission of an unlawful activity by any person, and includes economic or financial gains, savings and funds or property converted or transformed, in whole or in part, into other funds or property, and would also include instrumentalities and the value of such proceeds of crime, irrespective of —
who carried out the unlawful activity;
who benefited from the unlawful activity;
whether the unlawful activity was carried out before or after the coming into operation of this Act;
whether the unlawful activity was carried out in Sri Lanka or elsewhere:
Provided however, proceeds of crime which has been purchased, otherwise procured or transacted in any manner in good faith for valuable consideration and without knowledge or reasonable grounds to believe that such property is proceeds of crime, shall cease to be proceed of crime, and in such instances, the valuable consideration shall for the purposes of this Act be recognized and treated as proceeds of crime;
Clarification:
A property, benefit, service, or savings that is wholly or partly obtained, derived or realized directly or indirectly as a result of or in connection with the commission of an unlawful activity shall be proceeds of crime, notwithstanding-
the proceeds of crime not having been received by the person who committed the unlawful activity, and
the proceed having been given to, received or otherwise procured by a third party;
“property” means an asset of every kind which is corporeal or incorporeal, movable or immovable, tangible or intangible situated in Sri Lanka or elsewhere, which has financial or economic value, including-
currency, digital currency, virtual asset, account, investment;
any intellectual property;
legal documents or instruments in any form whatsoever including electronic or digital documents, evidencing title to, or interest in, such assets, and also includes and will not be limited to bank credits, travelers’ cheques, deposits, bank cheques, money orders, shares, securities, bonds, drafts, letters of credit, and any interest, dividends or other income on or value accruing from or generated by such funds or other assets, and any other assets which potentially may be used to obtain funds, goods or services;
any legal or equitable interest in any such property; and
any other tangible or intangible thing, procured using financial consideration and having a financial or commercial value;
“prosecution” means action in a court of law pursuant to a complaint under the provisions of the section 136 (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act,
Indictment preferred under the Code of Criminal
Procedure Act and the action instituted under the
Anti-Corruption Act;
“public property” shall have the same meaning assigned to it by the Offences Against Public
Property Act;
“record” means any material on which data is recorded or marked and which is capable of being read or understood by a person, computer system or other device;
“resident” means any citizen of Sri Lanka or any citizen of a foreign country, if such person has been in Sri Lanka continuously or otherwise for a period of hundred and eighty-three days or more in aggregate during the preceding twelve months or a citizen of a foreign country who is resident or employed in Sri Lanka under the authorization of a visa issued by the Department of Immigration and Emigration authorizing employment or the conduct of business;
“Right to Information Act” means the Right to
Information Act, No. 12 of 2016;
“service provider” means-
a public or private entity which provides the ability for its subscribers to communicate by means of a computer system or electronic system or by any other means; and
any other entity that processes or stores computer data or information on behalf of that entity or its customers;
“Sri Lanka” includes the territorial waters and air space of Sri Lanka;
“subscriber information” means any information contained in the form of computer data or any other form that is held by a service provider, relating to subscribers of its services;
“traffic data” means data-
that relates to the attributes of a communication by means of a computer system;
which is generated by a computer system that is part of a service provider;
which shows communications origin;
data processed for the purpose of the conveyance of a communication using an electronic communication network, or for the billing in respect of such communication and includes data relating to the routing, identity of the router, duration or time of a communication;
“trap” means an organized investigative technique which enables the –
detection of the committing of an offence;
identification and arrest of a person who commits an offence soon after the committing of such offence;
collection of evidence relating to the committing of an offence; and
collection of proceeds of such offence and instrumentalities thereof;
“undercover operation” shall mean a process within an investigation which involves an
Investigation Officer or an officer subordinate to an Investigation Officer who is subject to direction of an Investigation Officer engaging in conduct which at times may amount to actions constituting an offence, for the purposes of achieving the objectives of this Act including but not limited to -
tracing, locating, identifying and searching suspected proceeds of crime;
identifying persons who commit offences; and
investigation and gathering evidence regarding such persons and the committing of offences;
“unlawful activity” means any conduct which constitutes an offence under the laws of Sri
Lanka, and shall include-
any activity which is wholly or partly committed in or outside Sri Lanka which constitute an offence under the laws of
Sri Lanka if it was wholly committed in
Sri Lanka; and
any activity which had been committed prior to this Act coming into operation, provided, such activity constituted an offence under the law of Sri Lanka at the time it was committed;
“virtual asset” means a digital representation of value that can be digitally traded or transferred and can be used for payment or investment purposes, but does not include any digital representation of fiat currencies, securities and other financial assets;
“virtual assets service provider” means any natural person or legal person who conducts one or more of the following activities or operations for, or on behalf of another natural person or legal person:-
exchange between virtual assets and fiat currencies;
exchange between one or more forms of virtual assets;
transfer of virtual assets;
safekeeping or administration of virtual assets or instruments enabling control over virtual assets; and
participation in, and provision of financial services related to an issuer’s offer or sale of a virtual asset;
“whistleblower” means any person who –
has provided information or material, lodged a complaint or made a statement regarding any proceeds of crime, the committing of an offence under this
Act, the identity of a person who has committed an offence under this Act; or
has disclosed information or material which has the potential of been investigated into in terms of this Act, to a Designated Officer, an Investigation Officer, a compliance officer appointed in terms of section 14 of the Financial Transactions Reporting
Act, a supervisory authority recognized by the
Financial Transactions Reporting Act or the principal executive officer of his employer, that such Designated Officer, Investigation Officer, compliance officer, supervisory authority or the principal executive officer of his employer had been unaware of; and includes any person who may have assisted or supported such whistleblower with regard to the collection or the submission of the information or material and shall also include members of the family of such whistleblower, his dependents and any other person of significant importance to such whistleblower.