Category: News

Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa’s visit to India has been postponed, Daily Mirror learns.

The Minister was supposed to land in New Delhi today for meetings with his Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar to finalise on financial cooperation for Sri Lanka, to secure supplies of essential foods and fuel in the midst of the foreign exchange crisis.

According to informed sources, the visit will be rescheduled for a future date shortly.

India has already offered US $ 500 million credit line for fuel and US $ 1 billion facility for the import of food items and pharmaceuticals.

India and Sri Lanka had close to firming up three defence-related pacts and arrangements to boost maritime security ahead of Sri Lanka finance minister Basil Rajapaksa’s visit this week.

Ahead of a visit by Sri Lanka finance minister Basil Rajapaksa to India this week, the two countries are close to finalising three defence-related agreements and arrangements that are expected to boost cooperation for maritime security.

Rajapaksa, the younger brother of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, has been coordinating with the Indian side to firm up an economic assistance package to help Sri Lanka tide over a severe balance of payments crisis. He is expected to visit New Delhi during February 25-26, his second trip to the Indian capital since December.

While a $1-billion line of credit to be provided by India to Sri Lanka to purchase food, medicines and essential items will be the focus of Rajapaksa’s visit, the two sides are close to finalising three defence-related agreements and arrangements that will bolster the capabilities of Sri Lanka’s armed forces and boost cooperation for maritime security.

In addition to agreements for the purchase of two Dornier aircraft and the acquisition of a 4,000-tonne naval floating dock by Sri Lanka, Colombo has agreed to post a naval liaison officer at the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) in Gurugram, people familiar with the matter said.

The Parliamentary debate was adjourned for 10 minutes on 24th February due to MP Harin Fernando’s attempt to convince the Parliament of the impact of power cuts on the public, by bringing a torch to the Parliament.

The Leader of the House, Dinesh Gunawardana informed the House that a confrontation broke out when the Police had requested to examine an object brought by an MP to the Parliament and emphasized that such actions can have consequences as MPs are not permitted to bring such objects.

SJB MP Fernando, responded to the allegations stated that a power cut could occur when he is using the washroom, and that is the reason why he brought three torches to use.

Minister Gunawardana responded stating that an investigation should be conducted as such objects are not permitted within the Parliament, and even if there is a power cut, it’s clear that this action is unlawful and goes against parliamentary practices.

This object could prove to be a security risk and must be banned, he added.

Some 40 Sri Lankans stashed away around US$ 50 million in secret Swiss bank accounts, according to details made available exclusively to the Sunday Times by the US based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The details were obtained by the ICIJ from the French newspaper Le Monde and led to many collaborative projects by the ICIJ in what came to be known as Swiss Leaks. The Sri Lankans are among 100,000 clients of the HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) worldwide. The names and account details are in a trove of 60,000 leaked files covering up to 2007. The highest amounts remaining in the accounts during 2006-2007 under different Sri Lankan names are available.

The largest amount is in the name of Edmund Wijenaike Balasuriya and members of his family. Mr. Balasuriya is described in bank documents as the “owner of a shop of games” with an address in Colombo north. The Balasuriya family amounts listed in the balances add up to US$ 16,325,742 which at today’s exchange rate works out at more than two billion rupees. Together with his wife, his account balance is shown as US$ 10,668,094. The balance in the name of his daughter Lakshmi Fernando is listed as US$ 1,989,370. His son Rohan Balasuriya, the records show, has a balance of US$ 1,975,594. Three other sons – Mahendra, Lakshman and Asoka – reflect the same balance of US$ 1,975,319 each in accounts under their names.

Documents from the HSBC describe the Balasuriya family as being “good clients of ours for many years and retain an account in Barclays Bank Suisse holding several million dollars.” Among some 17 Sri Lankans whose names appear as having closed their accounts are Jeevaka Lalith Bhupendra Kotelawala, the holder of the country’s highest national honour – Deshamanya — and head of the beleaguered Ceylinco Consolidated. His Golden Key Credit Card Company collapsed in 2008 owing millions of rupees to clients who are still fighting court action.

Mr. Kotelawala opened his account on December 21, 1988 and closed it on March 3, 1997. Also opened and closed on the same dates was an account in the name of Daya Ranjit Senanayake, described in Colombo business circles as Mr. Kotelawala’s deputy at one time. The Sunday Times is in possession of all details related to the Sri Lankan secret account holders. They include their IBAN (International Bank Account Numbers), dates of birth, listed addresses, dates of opening of account, dates of closure and other related details. Whilst some operated accounts giving Sri Lankan addresses, they were found to be residents in countries including Australia, Britain and Canada. At least one was an attorney representing a ‘client.’

Exchange Controller D.M. Rupasinghe declined to comment when the Sunday Times asked whether Sri Lankans were allowed to open bank accounts overseas, particularly secret offshore accounts. He only cited the Exchange Control Act which requires the permission of the Central Bank (CB). Another high ranking CB official who spoke on grounds of anonymity said no clearance was given for any Sri Lankan to operate offshore “secret” accounts since they were illegal and a mechanism to avoid tax payments.

The HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) was accused of knowingly aiding thousands of individuals to evade taxes and break other financial laws of a number of countries. The bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Stuart Gulliver, extended his “sincerest apologies” after his bank was charged with helping clients conceal their identities to avoid taxes on deposits. The apology was printed as large advertisements in British and other foreign newspapers.

The second highest amount in the secret accounts is held in the name of Subramaniam Surendran, a Colombo businessman and his wife. He is described in local trade circles as one who did a large volume of business with the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB). They are shown together in two separate accounts as holding US$ 13,129,904. While his balance is reflected as US$ 6,564,952 in two accounts, his wife Charlotte Ranjitha, described as a ‘housewife’ held a balance of US$ 6,495,287.

The names of others who are listed as holding large sums are Anura Leslie Perera (Bandarawela) US$ 1,692,959. He is described as an attorney and was reportedly representing an account holder. Others are Aruna Rajendran Vasvani (Colombo) US$ 1,384,149, Nikhil Kishore Hirdaramani (Colombo) US$ 817,446, Vinod Kishore Hirdaramani (Colombo) together with Leena Vinod Hirdaramani US$ 646,243

Nearly 13 Members of Parliament (MPs) representing the Tamil-speaking people held a protest in front of the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo Thursday (24) morning (24), demanding an audience with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to raise issues about land grabbing occurring in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

Today, 13 MPs TELO,ITAK,TNPF and TMTK are holding a protest in front of the Presidential Secretariat. We heard from our sources that the President is due to be at the Secretariat today. We have raised our land-related issues in Parliament on a number of occasions and have held protests in a number of places. However, this issue still has not been resolved.

“I told the official that we’re not a trade union or association. There are 13 MPs here who were elected by the people, with over 1.5 million votes between us all. The president and the secretaries must remember that we represent 1.5 million people,” said Rasamanickam.

In a statement issued Wednesday morning, the president’s media division said an appointment had been given to the Tamil MPs who had, instead of meeting him, had held a protest outside the president’s office.

He explained that the Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority is distributing traditional cattle grazing land in the Eastern Province and that farmers from traditional farmlands are being evicted by the Forest Department. “Recently, we saw a Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Government MP taking some rocks belonging to the Archaeology Department from the North and the East. In the name of archaeology, even Hindu shrines have been removed and thrown away,” he added.

Rasamanickam said that yesterday, an official at the Presidential Secretariat had advised them to hand over a letter with their grievances but that a meeting with the President could only be given at a later date.

“We are not trade unions (TUs) or a village committee. We are MPs elected by the people. If you count the total votes that the 13 of us have obtained, it comes up to about 1.5 million votes. The President should remember that we are the people’s leaders of nearly 1.5 million people,” noted Rasamanickam.

Thamil Makkal Thesiya Kuttani Leader and MP C.V. Wigneswaran, who was also present at the protest, said that in recent times, a “lie is being spread that traditional Sinhala Buddhist lands have been taken by Tamils.”

“You kicked our Tamil people out in 1958 and 1983,” added Wigneswaran.

“We have repeatedly informed parliament and held protests in the north and east about this problem. No solutions have been provided. In fact, the problem has actually worsened,” he said.

The MP claimed that the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has been unlawfully distributing land held by the people of the north and east. The Mahawelia Authority has distributed acres of land that people in the Eastern province have used for cattle grazing.

“People have suddenly been asked to evict lands where they had been growing cowpea, green grams at small scale for 50, 60 years, with the claim that it’s land belonging to the Forest Department,” he said.