Government reveals extraordinary scale of alleged informal money-transfer operation as investigators obtain access to information on 210 bank accounts
An investigation into an alleged underground money-transfer operation has widened dramatically, with the Government telling Parliament that some Rs.74 billion had passed through 89 bank accounts linked to the case.
Cabinet Spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa said investigations following an arrest in Negombo had led to four managers of leading private banks also being arrested over alleged involvement in the operation.
The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court has meanwhile authorised disclosure of information relating to 210 accounts connected with the investigation, according to the Government.
The sheer volume makes this considerably more than another routine financial-crime investigation. If the allegations are established, the important question will extend beyond who transferred the money.
Investigators will need to establish how transactions of such scale travelled through the formal banking system, what compliance warnings were generated, whether suspicious-transaction reporting mechanisms operated as intended and who, if anyone, failed to act.
There is an important distinction here.
An individual may attempt to circumvent the law. But when tens of billions of rupees allegedly move through dozens of accounts, the effectiveness of the financial system’s gatekeepers inevitably comes into focus.
The investigation therefore has the potential to become as much a story about institutional controls as about the individuals presently accused.
