Mirijjawila refinery could lead to money laundering - TISL

Colombo (News 1st): Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) says it believes the controversy surrounding the proposed USD 3.85 billion oil refinery in Mirijjawila, Hambantota, could have a negative impact on Sri Lanka’s efforts to remove itself from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) ‘Grey List’ of countries vulnerable to money laundering and terrorism financing. Transparency in its media release says the main investor in the project, the Singapore based ‘investment vehicle’ Silver Park International Pte Ltd, is a company controlled by the family of Tamil Nadu politician and former Indian Union Minister Dr S. Jagathrakshakan, whose business interests have previously been implicated by Indian authorities and the media in several alleged corruption scandals. It also reveals that of the 40 FATF recommendations which set the international standards on combating money laundering, recommendation 12 requires that reasonable measures be taken to ascertain the source of wealth and source of funds in transactions involving politically exposed persons.