Former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has warned the country could be backlisted if the government moves ahead with enacting the controversial Colombo port city bill in its present form, reported Daily Mirror. 

The warning came at a time when the Sri Lankan government has been facing heat from all sides for bringing the special bill for Colombo port city which bypasses many existing laws of the country. 

Wickremesinghe, who is currently the opposition leader, warned that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) - the global watchdog for terror financing and money laundering- could blacklist the country for promoting money laundering. 

By removing the port city from the purview of the finance ministry and parliament, he said, would leave an impression about Sri Lankan where “black money is turned white.”

“Sri Lanka was blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in 2011 and was included in the grey list later when we presented a corrective situation in 2015,” Ranil was quoted as saying by Daily Mirror. “Later in 2019, Sri Lanka was totally removed from the list of countries that had anti-money laundering deficiencies,” he added. 

Ranil said, “This (the blacklisting) in turn would be a blow for Sri Lanka’s economy. Therefore, the entire Parliament should get together and bring in amendments to the Port City Bill.”

Under the bill, the government proposed giving wide-ranging power and immunity to an Economic Commission to be set up under the bill to administer Colombo Port City. The bill has been challenged in the country’s apex court by opposition parties as well as civil society groups. 

Some critics alleged that the bill, if enacted, would convert the port city into a Chinese colony. The government, however, claimed it would facilitate foreign investment and could prove game-changing for the country’s economy.