A special team under the Illegal Assets Investigation Division of the Criminal Investigation Department has been appointed to conduct investigations into persons who are trading foreign exchange through informal means such as Undial and the Hawala methods.
The team has been appointed by Inspector General of Police C.D.Wickremeratne at the request of the Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe.
The Central Bank notes that the main reason for the escalation of the economic crisis is the shortage of foreign exchange.
One of the main reasons for the crisis is the transfer of money outside the legal banking system through methods such as Hawala and Undial widely used by businessmen as well as migrant workers.
Police have requested the people not to receive and send any foreign remittances through informal means in the future.Police will also coordinate with Central Bank officials to carry out further investigations in the future.
In order to curb illegal foreign exchange activities under Sections 03 and 04 of the Money Laundering Act No. 05 of 2006, police will investigate with the officials of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to conduct investigations to identify the source of foreign currency or the way it was earned.
