COLOMBO – Sri Lanka has approved a proposal to designate the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as the official regulator for Virtual Assets and Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), moving to bring crypto trading and digital asset platforms under formal oversight.
The Cabinet of Ministers greenlit the decision following a submission by the President in his capacity as the Minister of Digital Economy.
The initiative stems from recommendations made by a specialized sub-committee under the National Coordination Committee for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT).
Historically, Sri Lankan retail investors and traders relied heavily on offshore platforms and peer-to-peer (P2P) channels to trade cryptocurrencies and digital assets.
“Since these platforms operate completely outside the local regulatory framework, it has been observed that Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) function without basic compliance obligations, reporting standards, or registration requirements for oversight,” Cabinet spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa said.
Sri Lanka’s financial surveillance rules, enforced via the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and the Financial Transactions Reporting Act (FTRA), require strict Customer Due Diligence (CDD) and Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance to keep the island nation off international risk lists.
Under the new joint oversight model involving the Central Bank’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Inland Revenue Department, the SEC will enact statutory provisions mandating that VASPs comply with AML/CFT frameworks, mandatory transaction reporting, and registration requirements.
-economynext.com
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