Sri Lanka passes landmark law to recover stolen assets

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By Editor_1

COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s government introduced sweeping legislation Tuesday (8) to recover stolen assets and pave the way for the prosecution of high-profile politicians from previous administrations, among others.

The Proceeds of Crime bill was passed unanimously in parliament, where the leftist government of President Anura Dissanayake enjoys a two-thirds majority after elections last year.

“This is a historic day for Sri Lanka,” Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara told the assembly. “This is the first bill of the new government.”

He said the bill had been in the works for nine years, but the new administration had accelerated it to deliver on a promise to pursue politicians who had bankrupted the country.

It allows for the seizure and confiscation of ill-gotten wealth even without a criminal conviction, and it can be applied to unexplained assets accumulated in the past.

The legislation is also in line with an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout program that the island nation entered into in early 2023, after declaring bankruptcy.

Sri Lanka defaulted on its $46 billion foreign debt in April 2022 after running out of foreign exchange to finance even the most essential imports, such as food, fuel and medicines.

Months of street protests led to the resignation of then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a younger brother of Mahinda Rajapaksa, who ruled for a decade until January 2015.

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has ruled that then-president Gotabaya, his then-prime minister brother Mahinda and then-finance minister brother Basil were responsible for the unprecedented economic meltdown.

Several relatives, including two of Mahinda’s children, are currently facing criminal proceedings over corruption and money laundering.

Dissanayake came to power promising to prosecute high-profile politicians accused of embezzlement.

The new legislation gives sweeping powers to a special police unit to seize property and freeze bank accounts.

It also allows the authorities to seek help from foreign governments to locate and bring back stolen assets stashed abroad.

Courts are to apply the balance of probability principle, rather than the beyond reasonable doubt standard used in normal criminal cases.

– Agence France Presse

Editor_1
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