- Mel Gunasekera The move is part of the government's drive to keep track of irregular financial transactions, he said.
"We want to keep a closer watch on foreign exchange movements, to prevent criminal activities," he said.
The US government has been pushing for such legislation throughout the world.
The Asian Development Bank and the U.S. government have also promised to give technical assistance to this new unit, which comes under the Central Bank's supervision.
The Financial Transactions Reporting law mandates banks, finance companies, leasing companies, casinos, accountants, auditors and lawyers to report any transactions that appear to be 5,000 dollars and above to the authorities.
Sri Lanka has also enacted an anti money laundering law, which makes it illegal for people to 'wash their dirty money' or 'legitimise their ill-gotten gains,' by disguising the sources, cha