VZCZCXRO6892
RR RUEHLMC
DE RUEHLM #0376/01 0651239
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061239Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5591
INFO RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHMFIUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0716
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 9942
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 6908
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 4980
RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE 5668
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI 2155
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 7480
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000376 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR SCA/INS, S/CT, AND EEB/ESC/TFS 
 
MCC FOR S GROFF, D NASSIRY AND E BURKE 
 
E.O 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIN ETTC KFTN LE PREL PTER CE
SUBJECT: TERRORIST FINANCE: SRI LANKA ENFORCING AGAINST ILLICIT CASH 
COURIERS TO THE EXTENT IT CAN 
 
REF: STATE 16120 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Sri Lanka Customs and the Central Bank's 
Financial Intelligence Unit are actively attempting to prevent 
illicit cash courier activity and are aware of the issues raised in 
reftel.  They have had some success in disrupting transactions, but 
have been less effective in figuring out what illicit activities 
those transactions supported.  Both agencies would welcome training 
if available.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Econoff met with senior officials at Sri Lanka Customs and 
the Central Bank's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) as requested in 
reftel to express USG concern over illicit cash couriers and to 
discuss Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) efforts against illicit cash 
couriers.  Both agencies were familiar with the issue and shared USG 
concerns. 
 
SRI LANKA CUSTOMS IS ON THE BALL BUT WELCOMES HELP 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶3. (SBU) L.M. Nelson, Deputy Director of Customs and Head of the 
Customs Intelligence Unit, was aware of the crime and security 
issues associated with cash smuggling.  He said that Sri Lanka 
Customs, which has border control responsibility at sea and air 
ports, is convinced that cash smuggling undermines economic 
stability and the rule of law.  According to Nelson, Sri Lanka 
Customs disrupted 24 cash smuggling attempts in 2006, seizing 
various currencies with a value of USD 1.96 million. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Most of these seizures involved outbound cash.  Cases of 
inbound cash smuggling were unusual, Nelson said.  He explained that 
cash smuggling attempts often involved civilian security staff at 
Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport, who hand over cash to 
Singapore-bound Indian passengers in the airport transit lounge. 
Sri Lanka Customs generally found it hard to ascertain the source or 
the intended destination of funds.  Nelson thought three scenarios 
were most common: attempts to launder drug profits; completion of 
commercial transactions that involved undervaluation goods to avoid 
taxation; and possible financing of arms transactions for the ethnic 
separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). 
 
¶5. (SBU) Nelson noted that Sri Lanka Customs has necessary legal and 
operational authorities to enforce against cash smugglers at Customs 
borders.  The Exchange Control Act requires that travelers declare 
cash over the value of USD 10,000.  The Customs Ordinance gives Sri 
Lanka Customs administrative authority to investigate and arrest 
those who fail to declare cash as required, and to seize their cash 
or other assets.  The ordinance also permits the Customs to impose 
administrative penalties of forfeiture and fines of up to three 
times the value of cash seized.  These administrative penalties do 
not require referring the cases to court.  If violators fail to pay 
Customs-imposed penalties, the government can file action in court, 
which can result in imprisonment. 
 
¶6. (SBU) With regard to intelligence sharing, Nelson noted that Sri 
Lanka Customs works with the Asia Pacific regional liaison office of 
the World Customs Organization.  Nelson acknowledged that weaknesses 
exist in Sri Lanka Customs' ability to detect cash smuggling, and 
that much cash smuggling probably goes undetected due to Customs' 
resource constraints.  He said that Customs would welcome training 
for its officers in detecting cash smuggling and in identifying the 
individuals or organizations conducting it. 
 
FIU ALSO AWARE AND ACTIVE ON CASH COURIERS 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶7. (SBU) The Central Bank of Sri Lanka's Financial Intelligence Unit 
(FIU) focuses heavily on preventing funds from flowing to the LTTE, 
both through bank transactions and cash couriers.  According to 
George Fernando, Chief Executive Officer of the FIU, four pieces of 
legislation provide the framework for dealing with cash couriers: 
the Prevention of Money Laundering Act No. 5 of 2006 (PMLA), the 
Financial Transactions Reporting Act No. 6 of 2006 (FTRA), the 
Customs Ordinance, and the Exchange Control Act. 
 
COLOMBO 00000376  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) Fernando explained that the FTRA contains a section 
concerning cash used in connection with money laundering or 
financing of terrorism.  The act authorizes the FIU to work with law 
enforcement.  Accordingly, FIU is attempting to improve information 
sharing with Sri Lanka Customs.  The FIU had asked Customs not to 
release cash couriers after seizing their cash, but to detain them 
and coordinate with the FIU on their disposition. 
 
¶9. (SBU) The FIU was concerned with the trend involving couriers 
trying to move cash to Singapore.  To Fernando, the intent of such 
transactions was clear: to finance LTTE arms purchases.  He 
explained that overseas worker remittances were often return to Sri 
Lanka in cash form and changed to rupees outside the banking system. 
 The hard currency from these transactions was then smuggled out for 
deposit in Singapore banks, which asked few questions about the 
origin of the cash.  Fernando said that the Police are currently 
investigating unauthorized money changers, and that a number of 
illegal money changers in Colombo had closed down as a result. 
 
FIU'S LIAISON WORK NOT PRODUCING RESULTS 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) Fernando added that he had informally raised this cash 
smuggling pattern with Indian and Singaporean authorities, but had 
not gotten much cooperation yet.  Sri Lanka was pursuing formal 
memoranda of understanding for such liaison, as required by the two 
governments (though not required by Sri Lanka). 
 
SRI LANKA IMPLEMENTING FATF AND UN REQUIREMENTS 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶11. (U) Sri Lanka is a party to the UN International Convention for 
the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.  According to 
Fernando, the FTRA provides a legal framework for Sri Lanka to 
cooperate with and provide assistance to other state parties to the 
Convention with regard to investigations and prosecutions.  Sri 
Lanka is also a member of the Asia Pacific Group, and has applied to 
become a member of the Egmont group.  In addition, the Mutual 
Assistance in Criminal Matters Act of 2002 provides for cooperation 
in criminal matters with Commonwealth countries and with 
non-Commonwealth countries with which Sri Lanka has entered into a 
bilateral agreement on mutual assistance in criminal matters. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) The GSL, which for years has attempted to interrupt 
funding of the LTTE (a U.S. designated Foreign Terrorist 
Organization), is eager to increase its capacity to control cash 
smuggling.  The USG currently has stationed a Treasury advisor to 
work with Sri Lanka's FIU on the full range of its activities.  Post 
also notes that on March 2, a leading local newspaper reproduced a 
USINFO article entitled "Asset Forfeiture - Effective Way to Fight 
International Crime."