News
FSP traces current forex crisis to PM doing away with Exchange Control Act under yahapalana rule
By Saman Indrajiith
The Frontline Socialist Party, on Tuesday, said that amending of laws in favour of forex racketeers by the Yahapalana government in 2017 was one of the main causes of the prevailing forex shortage crisis.
Addressing the media at the party head office in Nugegoda, FSP Education Secretary, Pubudu Jagoda, said that the then Prime Minister Wickremesinghe had got the Exchange Control Act amended. “Since 1953, we have had the Exchange Control Act which prevented questionable outflows of forex. Wickremesinghe brought in a new law under the name Foreign Exchange Act, in 2017, replacing the former legislation. He said the reason for doing away with the Exchange Control Act of 1953 was to liberalise the foreign exchange flow. However, the new law proved detrimental to this country’s interests. Around 30 forex fraudsters were released from the cases against them. The new law has led to the present foreign exchange crisis.
“As per the previous legislation, exporters required to bring home an equivalent, or more, of foreign exchange of the worth of their exports via the banking system. The violation of the law was a criminal offence. The offences, under the former legislation, were non bailable offences. As per the provisions of the Exchange Control Act, the property of the offender was to be confiscated. At the time the new law was introduced, there were around 30 cases pending before our courts against alleged violators of the former Act. Among those were close associates of Wickremesinghe and some members of the Rajapaksa family.
“It is usual when a new Act is introduced, replacing the former Act, mention has to be made with regard to the procedure to be adapted for the cases pending before the courts for offences committed under the previous Act. The new Foreign Exchange Act, introduced by Wickremesinghe, converted the criminal offence into a civil offence. It relegated the forex offences under the new act to the jurisdiction to Magistrates’ Courts from High Courts and also provided for bail to be granted by a Magistrate. With regard to the mandatory confiscation of property and earnings of forex crimes, the new Act placed it under the discretion of the judge. As per the provisions of the new Act, those pending cases came to an end. The provisions of the new Act called for a fresh filing of the cases within a period of three months. There were no cases filed for the same offences and all those who had been charged under the former Act were allowed to get away.
The new Act, which came into force in 2017, was favourable to forex racketeers and enabled many unscrupulous exports to park their dollars overseas, contributing to the present crisis.
A group of Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) members, including its Leader Mano Ganesan, met President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Thursday (02) morning at the Presidential Secretariat.
Extensive discussions were held on the issues faced by the Malayagam communities, particularly in relation to education, housing and land, as well as on the urgent measures required to address these concerns. The President paid special attention to all these matters.
Attention was also drawn to the recruitment of qualified Tamil-medium teachers to address the teacher shortage in estate sector schools and this too was discussed at length.
Members of Parliament P. Digambaram and V. Radhakrishnan, along with several other party members, were present at the meeting.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vijitha Herath, held talks with Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Andrey Rudenko at the Foreign Ministry, in Colombo, on Thursday (02), with both sides reaffirming their commitment to strengthening bilateral relations.
The Sri Lanka Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the visiting Russian Deputy Minister noted that Russia regarded Sri Lanka as a long-standing friend.
Rudenko assured that Russia stood ready to support Sri Lanka when required, including in the swift supply of Russian oil to help address the current energy challenges, encouraging Russian investors to explore new opportunities in the country and promoting increased tourist arrivals.
He also expressed Russia’s readiness to provide compensation for Sri Lankan war veterans who had lost their lives in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Minister Herath welcomed Russia’s willingness to assist, emphasising that Sri Lanka valued the support extended by its “old friend”, particularly at a time when the country was facing pressing energy needs.
He noted that the two countries shared nearly seven decades of diplomatic relations and said the present moment provided an opportunity to further strengthen ties, including through long-term trade agreements.
The discussions focused on enhancing cooperation in the fields of energy, investment, tourism and diplomacy, with both sides reiterating their commitment to further deepen the longstanding friendship between Sri Lanka and Russia.
Police yesterday arrested 157 foreign nationals in connection with an alleged organised online financial scam, conducted from a hotel in the Iranawila area in Chilaw.
The suspects were taken into custody during a raid carried out by the Police while they were staying at the hotel in Iranawila.
Police said the arrested group included 143 nationals from China, 13 from Bangladesh and one from Vietnam.
Investigators suspect the group had been involved in a coordinated online financial scam, targeting victims through digital platforms.
The suspects are being detained for further questioning while investigations are continuing to determine the full extent of the operation and whether additional individuals were involved.Police said further inquiries are underway.
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