Halgama Arachchilage Piyushani Iresha vs. The Hon. Attorney General – CPA/0078/23-2024

In the case between Halgama Arachchilage Piyushani Iresha (Petitioner/Accused-Petitioner) and the Hon. Attorney General (Respondent), the court addressed the issue of whether the amendment to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (Amendment Act No. 40 of 2011) should be applied retrospectively to offences allegedly committed before its enactment. It was held that the amendment could not be given retrospective effect in the absence of explicit statutory provision, and thus the indictment based on transactions that occurred prior to the amendment’s effective date was invalid. The principle reaffirmed was that substantive penal statutes are presumed to operate prospectively unless expressly stated otherwise. This decision relied on established rules of statutory interpretation and relevant c