In a major breakthrough for accountability, top World Bank and UN StAR experts have agreed to help Sri Lanka trace and recover assets believed to be stolen through corruption and hidden abroad, marking one of the strongest international collaborations against financial crime in recent years.
Senior officials of the World Bank and the StAR Initiative under the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime have agreed to provide technical and expert support for Sri Lanka’s process to recover assets believed to have been acquired through corruption in foreign countries. A special high level discussion regarding this initiative was held at the Ministry of Justice and National Integration under the patronage of the Minister of Justice and National Integration, Attorney at Law Harshana Nanayakkara. The meeting focused on strengthening international cooperation and ensuring that Sri Lanka can effectively utilize global mechanisms designed to track and retrieve illicit financial assets.
According to the Ministry, the necessary technical and expert support is expected to be obtained for the recovery of assets believed to have been acquired through corruption under the Proceeds of Crime Recovery Act. This support will be essential for navigating complex international financial systems and identifying stolen funds that may have been transferred through multiple jurisdictions.
Multiple key state institutions have committed to supporting the initiative. The Bribery or Corruption Investigation Commission, the Ministry of Justice and National Integration, the Police Crime Recovery Division, the Attorney General’s Department, the Police Department and the Financial Intelligence Unit have all agreed to provide the operational and investigative assistance needed to recover proceeds of crime. Their combined efforts are expected to create a coordinated national framework for asset recovery and financial accountability.
The appointment of a task force dedicated to this process was also discussed during the meeting. This task force is expected to drive investigations, streamline international communication and guide all legal procedures required to identify and recover stolen overseas assets. The same bodies have also contributed to the preparation of the Anti Corruption Act, the Crime Recovery Act and the Assets and Liabilities Act, strengthening the overall legal structure for fighting corruption in Sri Lanka.
The StAR process has been developed by the World Bank and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in line with the United Nations Convention against Corruption, offering countries specialized technical assistance to recover assets acquired through corruption. This global mechanism has supported many nations in retrieving billions in stolen wealth and is now being aligned with Sri Lanka’s national strategies.
Several senior officials participated in the discussion, including Laura Pop, Senior Economist at the StAR Initiative, Ms. Ayesha Jinasena, Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and National Integration, President’s Counsel, Mr. Ranga Dissanayake, Director General of the Commission to Investigate Bribery or Corruption, High Court Judge Ranga Dissanayake, World Bank Governance Specialist in Sri Lanka Till Hartmann, StAR Consultant Dmytro Kotlyar, StAR Specialist Karen Greenaway and senior officials of the Ministry of Justice and National Integration.
