Thursday Sep 04, 2025
Thursday Sep 04, 2025
Thursday, 4 September 2025 05:49 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
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From left: World Bank Financial Market Integrity, Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation Lead Emile van der Does de Willebois, CIABOC Chairman Justice Neil Iddawala, World Bank Financial Market Integrity/StAR Senior Financial Sector Specialist Laura Pop, and StAR Communications and M&E Officer Neha Maryam Zaigham |
The Foreign Ministry yesterday said that the World Bank has expressed its willingness to explore avenues of technical assistance to support the enforcement of the Proceeds of Crime Act, No. 5 of 2025 (POCA).
The landmark legislation provides for the tracing, freezing, confiscation, management, and disposal of proceeds of crime, including corruption.
The World Bank expressed its willingness to provide technical assistance to enforce the new anti-corruption measures when Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) Chairman Justice Neil Iddawala met with World Bank Financial Market Integrity, Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation Lead Emile van der Does de Willebois, World Bank Financial Market Integrity/Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR) Senior Financial Sector Specialist Laura Pop, and StAR Communications and Monitoring and Evaluations (M&E) Officer Neha Maryam Zaigham in Vienna recently.
The Foreign Ministry said that Sri Lanka has previously benefitted from World Bank support through the StAR Initiative, including assistance in developing the legal framework on asset declarations, drafting terms of reference for the electronic assets declaration system, expertise sharing at United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) workshops, and technical assistance for the development of the Proceeds of Crime Policy.
The CIABOC Chief and World Bank officials discussed possible areas of cooperation, including capacity-building for investigators and prosecutors, technical tools for asset tracing and management, guidance on electronic platforms, and a long-term partnership to institutionalise asset recovery mechanisms.
This engagement reaffirms Sri Lanka’s commitment to international cooperation in asset recovery and the fight against corruption, while leveraging global expertise to ensure that illicit gains are returned to the people, the Foreign Ministry said.
The meeting was held on the sidelines of the second resumed sixteenth session of the Implementation Review Group of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) in Vienna, where Justice Iddawela is leading the Sri Lanka delegation.
