Financial Transactions Reporting (No. 6 of 2006)

Sri Lanka Consolidated Acts

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Financial Transactions Reporting (No. 6 of 2006) - Sect 33

Interpretation

33. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires - "account" means any facility or arrangement by which an Institution does any of the following :-

(a) accepts deposits of currency ;

(b) allows withdrawals of currency ; or

(c) pays cheques or payment orders drawn on the Institution, or collects cheques or payment orders on behalf of a person other than the Financial Institution,

and includes any facility or arrangement for a safety deposit box of for any other form of safe deposit; "authorised officer" means -

(a) a Police Officer above the rank of an Assistant Superintendent of Police or ;

(b) a Customs Officer above the rank of Superintendent of Customs ;

"cash" means any coin or paper money that is designated as legal tender in the country of issue and includes bearer bonds, travellers' cheques, postal notes and money orders ; "currency" means the currency of Sri Lanka or that of a foreign country that is designated as legal tender and which is customarily used and accepted as a medium of exchange in the country of issue ; "customer" in relation to a transaction or an account includes -

(a) the person in whose name a transaction or account is arranged, opened or undertaken ;

(b) a signatory to a transaction or account;

(d) any person who is authorised to conduct a transaction ; or

(e) such other person as may be prescribed.

"designated non-finance business" includes-

(a) individual and collective portfolio management;

(b) investing, administering or managing funds or money on behalf of other persons ;

(d) safe custody services ;

(e) underwriting and placement of insurance, as well as insurance intermediation by agents and brokers ;

(f) trustee administration or investment management or a superannuation scheme ;

(g) casinos, gambling houses or conducting of a lottery, including a person who carries on such a business through the internet when their customers engage in financial transactions equal to or above the prescribed threshold ;

(h) real estate agents, when they are involved in transactions for their clients in relation to the buying and selling of real estate ;

(i) dealers in precious metals and dealers in precious and semi-precious stones, including but not limited to, metals and stones covered by the Gem and Jewellery Act, No. 50 of 1993 when they engage in cash transactions with a customer, equal to or above the prescribed threshold ;

(j) lawyers, notaries, other independent legal professionals and accountants when they prepare for or carry out transactions for their clients in relation to any of the following activities : -

	(i) buying and selling of real estate ;

	(ii) managing of client money, securities or other assets;

	(iii) management of bank, savings or securities accounts ;

	(iv) organization of contributions for the creation, operation or management of companies ; and

	(v) creation, operation or management of legal person or arrangements and the buying and selling of business entities ;

(k) a trust or company service provider not otherwise conversed by this definition, which as a business provides and one or more of the following services to third parties : -

	(i) formation or management of legal persons ;

	(ii) acting as or arranging for another person to act as, a director or secretary of a company, a partner or a partnership or a similar position in relation to other legal persons ;

	(iii) providing a registered office, business address or accommodation, correspondence or administrative address for a company, a partnership or for any other legal person or arrangement;

	(iv) acting as or arranging for another person to act as, a trustee of an express trust;

	(v) acting as or arranging for another person to act as, a nominee shareholder for another person ;

(l) offshore units in accordance with the definitions provided for the same in other written laws; and

(m) such other business as may be prescribed from time to time by the Minister taking into consideration the interests of the national economy.

"document" means any record of information, and includes -

(a) anything on which there is writing ;

(b) anything on which there are marks, figures, symbols, or perforations having meaning for persons qualified to interpret them ;

(d) a map, plan, drawing, photograph or similar thing ; and

(e) any of the above kept or maintained in electronic form.

"finance business" includes any one of the following businesses or activities :-

(a) banking business as defined in the Banking Act, No. 30 of 1988 ;

(b) finance business as defined in the Finance Companies Act, No. 78 of 1988 (irrespective of whether the person is licensed or registered under the Act);

(c) lending, including consumer credit, mortgage credit, factoring (with or without recourse) and financing of commercial transactions ;

(d) financial leasing other than transactions relating to consumer products ;

(f) money and currency changing services ;

(g) issuing and managing means of payment (i.e. credit cards, travellers' cheques, money orders and bankers' drafts and electronic money);

(h) issuing financial guarantees and commitments, including but not limited to consumer credit, factoring with or without recourse and financing of commercial transactions including forfeiting ;

(i) trading for its own account or for the account of customers in money market instruments (i.e. cheques, bills, certificates of deposit and derivatives), foreign exchange, exchange, interest rate and index instruments, commodity futures trading and transferable securities ;

(j) participating in securities issues and the provision of financial services related to such issues ; and

(k) such other business as may be prescribed from time to time by the Minister taking into consideration the interests of the national economy.

"Financial Intelligence Unit" means the government department, public corporation, statutory body, institution, or authority, or any department or unit of such department, corporation, body, institution or authority designated by the Minister by Order published in the Gazette, which shall be charged with the administration of the provisions of this Act ; the Minister shall in making the Order take into consideration the capacity of the Government department, public corporation, statutory body, or authority to be designated in relation to its functions and manpower and its overall ability to act efficiently in the discharge of the functions under this Act; "Institution" means any person or body of persons engaged in or carrying out any finance business or designated non-finance business within the meaning of this Act; "money transmission services" means a person (other than a bank licensed by the Central Bank) carrying on the business of-

(a) exchanging cash or the value of money ;

(b) collecting, holding, exchanging or remitting funds or the value of money, or otherwise negotiating transfers of funds or the value of money, on behalf of other persons ;

(d) issuing, selling or redeeming traveller's cheques, money orders of similar instruments;

"negotiable bearer instrument" means a document representing ownership of debts or obligations, including bills of exchange, promissory notes or certificates of deposit, whether made payable to the bearer or not; "Offshore Unit" means a unit or department of a licensed commercial bank or a licensed specialized bank carrying on banking business, subject to the provisions of Part IV of the Banking Act, No. 30 of 1988, dealing with Offshore Banking ; "person" means any natural of legal person including a body of persons, whether it has legal personality or not and includes a branch of such person or body of persons incorporated or established outside Sri Lanka; "prescribed" means prescribed by regulations made under this Act; "money laundering offence" means an offence as defined in section 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, No. 5 of 2006; "offence of financing of terrorism" means an act constituting an offence in terms of the Convention on the Suppression of Terrorist Financing Act, No. 25 of 2005; "property" means any currency, and includes any asset of any kind, whether corporeal or incorporeal, movable or immovable, tangible or intangible whether situated in Sri Lanka or elsewhere, and legal documents or, instruments in any form whatsoever including electronic or digital form, evidencing title to, or interest in, such assets, including but not limited to bank credits, travellers' cheques, bank cheques, money orders, shares, securities, bonds, drafts, letters of credit and includes any legal or equitable interest in any such property ; "record" means any material on which data is recorded or marked and which is capable of being read or understood by a person, computer system or other device ; "suspicious transaction report" means a report required to be made under section 6 ; "specified entity" means -

(a) an entity that has knowingly -

	(i) committed ;

	(ii) attempted to commit;

	(iii) participated in committing ; or

	(iv) facilitated the commission of,

(b) an entity prescribed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs in terms of regulations made under the United Nations Act, No. 45 of 1968 ;

"terrorist act" means an act constituting an offence in terms of any written law for the time being in force in Sri Lanka relating to terrorism ; "terrorist property" means:-

(a) proceeds from the commission of a terrorist act;

(b) property which has been, is being, or is likely to be used to commit a terrorist act;

(d) property owned or controlled by or on behalf of a terrorist group ; or

(e) property which has been collected for the purpose of providing support to a terrorist group for funding a terrorist act;

"transaction" means any activity connected with finance business or designated non-finance business ; "transaction" in relation to property includes-

(a) a purchase, sale, loan, charge, mortgage, lien, pledge, transfer, delivery, assignment, subrogation, transmission, gift, donation, creation of a trust, settlement, deposit including the deposit of any article, withdrawal, transfer between assets, extension of credit;

(b) any agency or grant of power of attorney ;

(c) any other disposition or dealing of property in whatever form, or whatsoever description or nature, howsoever described, which results in any right, title, interest or privilege, whether present or future, or whether vested or contingent, in the whole or any part of such property being conferred on any person ; and

"unlawful activity" means any act which constitutes an offence under:-

(a) the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218);

(b) any law or regulation for the time being in force relating to the prevention and suppression of terrorism;

(d) the Firearms Ordinance (Chapter 182), the Explosives Ordinance (Chapter 183) or the Offensive Weapons Act, No. 18 of 1966.

(e) The Exchange Control Act (Chapter 423);

(f) an offence under section 83 C of the Banking Act, No. 30 of 1988 ;

(g) any law for the time being in force relating to transnational organised crime ;

(h) any law for the time being in force relating to cyber crime;

(i) any law for the time being in force relating to offences against children ;

(j) any law for the time being in force relating to offences connected with the trafficking of persons ; and

(k) an offence under any other law for the time being in force which is punishable by death or with imprisonment for a term of seven years or more.

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