By Saman Indrajith

The JVP says that there are reasons to suspect that the proposed deal to handover the operations of Colombo Port’s East Container Terminal to India’s Adani group is a corrupt one. It intends to complain to the Criminal Investigations Department seeking an investigation.

Addressing the media at party headquarters on Tuesday, JVP leader Anura Kumara Disssanayake said that India’s Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd and its owner Gautam Adani were notorious for questionable business practices the world over

“The local agent to secure the deal between the Adani group and Sri Lanka Ports Authority is Sajad Mawzoon, a director and local shareholder of Colombo Shangri-La. We exposed his deals with the government, during a parliament debate. Mawazoon helped the SLPP and its Viyath Maga to hold their meetings in the run-up to the elections. Mawzoon’s Pyramid Wilmar is the company that profited from the government’s decision to change import levies on sugar. The government on June 26 imposed a 50-rupee import levy on Sugar imports and later on Oct 13 reduced it to 25 cents. This resulted in at least a loss of Rs. 10 billion to the state coffers. The same company imports coconut oil. On June 26, import duty on a litre of imported coconut oil was fixed at Rs 150. On July 10, it was reduced by Rs. 25 and again on Dec 14 it was hiked to the previous rate after allowing the company in question to import 7,000 metric tonnes of coconut oil and make a huge profit of Rs. rupees from each kilo. The government helped earn it Rs. 125 million in profit by manipulating import duties. It is this same company involved in the shady ECT deal.”

Dissnayake said that by increasing and lowering sugar import duties the government helped Mawzoon’s Pyramid Wilmar to earn a profit of Rs 10 billion. “This is the same government that expects a loan from the World Bank Rs 10 billion to import COVID-19 vaccine!