Round 04

Which country has become the first country outside of Ukraine to announce a rollout of a new government backed Ukraine Sovereignty Bond, the proceeds of which will be channeled to Ukraine through the International Monetary Fund?

• Canada

• France

• United Kingdom

• United States of America

The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference COP27) concluded recently, with the topic ‘green hushing’ returning to the fore. ‘Green hushing’ was first coined in the late-2000s but has hovered chiefly under the radar when compared to ‘greenwashing’, which enjoys widespread familiarity. What is meant by ‘green-hushing’?

• Companies remaining silent about their sustainability goals

• Companies setting out its science-based emission reduction milestones

• Companies disseminating disinformation to present an environmentally responsible public image

• All of the above

At the Asia Pacific Group’s (APG) annual meeting in Malaysia in July 2022, the APG membership decided to terminate the observer status of a country which had been an observer to the APG since 2010. The decision to terminate its APG status was based on the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) June 2022 decision to restrict its FATF membership rights. What is this country?

• Kiribati

• Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

• Russian Federation

• Tuvalu

Each year the Asia Pacific Group publishes a typologies report to share information on regional typologies, including information on ML and TF trends.  In 2022, the report includes a brief focus chapter on the illicit financial flows from a particular activity which poses a large-scale concern from a range of perspectives including the amount of proceeds generated, security concerns, and the involvement of transnational organised criminal groups. What is this activity?

• Human trafficking and people smuggling

• Underground banking, alternative remittance services, hawala

• Use of virtual assets

• Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing

Which sector/s is/are often still referred to as the “wild west” of the finance industry?

• Cross-border financial transactions

• Virtual assets

• Money and value transfer systems

• All of the above

With support from the G20, the Financial Action Task Force issued global, binding standards to prevent the misuse of virtual assets for money laundering and terrorist financing. Virtual assets service providers often have a presence and a client base that spans the globe. Where will the standards apply and who would regulate them?

• Country of location of server

• Country of execution of transaction

• Country of incorporation of the virtual asset service provider

• All of the above

The Personal Data Protection Act No. 9 of 2022 ('PDPA') was passed in the Parliament of Sri Lanka and was certified by the Speaker on 19 March 2022. When do the provisions of the Act (excluding Parts IV and V) come into effect?

• On establishing the Data Protection Authority of Sri Lanka

• As noticed in the relevant Gazette, a day between 18th September 2023 and 18th March 2025.

• As noticed in the relevant Gazette by 18th March 2023

• As noticed in the relevant Gazette by 18th March 2025

The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, at its meeting held on 23 November 2022, decided to maintain the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) of the Central Bank at their current levels of 14.50 per cent and 15.50 per cent, respectively. The Board noted that the maintenance of the tight monetary policy stance is necessary to contain any demand driven inflationary pressures in the economy, while helping to further strengthen disinflation expectations, with the objective of steering headline inflation towards the targeted level over the medium term. What is this targeted level?      

• 8 – 10 percent

• 9 – 11 percent

• 4 – 6 percent

• 5 – 7 percent

In November 2022, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka published a report titled “Recent Economic Developments: Highlights of 2022 and Prospects for 2023”. As stated therein and as per the provisional estimates of the Department of Census and Statistics, the Sri Lankan real economy witnessed a y-o-y contraction during the first half of 2022, compared to the growth of 9.3% in the corresponding period of 2021. What was the level of contraction?

• -1.6%

• -4.8%

• -5.8%

• -8.4%

1.      Who said, “In authoritarian contexts where control rests with a few, social movements are the last remaining check on power. It is the collective power held by ordinary people from all walks of life that will ultimately deliver accountability’.

• Daniel Eriksson, Chief Executive Officer, Transparency International

• David Malpass, President, The World Bank

• Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund

• António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations