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Treasury loses USD 18 mn as minister blocks CCD probe into generator fraud

Published

4 years ago

2021/11/22

by Ifham Nizam and Prabhath Withana

An investigation by the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) into a complaint of fraud, which caused a loss of over USD 18 million to the government coffers, has been stalled by a minister, according to police sources.

The CCD commenced the investigation, several weeks ago, following a complaint against a Singaporean, of Sri Lankan origin, and a Sri Lankan, for using forged documents to cheat a Sri Lankan company out of Rs 35 million.

Investigators uncovered a customs fraud, amounting to USD 18 million using a Power Purchasing Agreement (PPA) between the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and a Hongkong-based company. The Customs Department’s Compliance and Facilitation Division commenced a separate investigation.

The Customs investigation found that the suspects had deprived Sri Lanka of USD 18 million by using the PPA, which had been cancelled by the CEB. “As per the PPA, the V Power Holdings could import to Sri Lanka power generators, duty free, to supply 34 MW to the national gri, for a six-month period. As per the PPA, after six months the company is required to re-ship those generators and is also requested pay a 10 percent tax on revenue from the generators. That tax could have been around one million USD. They brought down 350 generators. The duty for the generators would have been around 14 million USD. The company obtained a duty waiver to the tune of around three million USD. However, the PPA had been cancelled by that time by the CEB because V Power Holdings failed to deliver 34 MW, within the stipulated one-month period,” a senior CCD officer said.

The company has to pay over 18 million USD to Sri Lanka. It did not re-export the generators. In addition, the suspects have also been charged with defrauding Rs 35 million from the Green Win Holdings Lanka Ltd., the local agent company of the Hong Kong-based Listed Company, V Power Holdings.

The CCD investigation has been halted due to political interference, sources said, adding that the suspects had approached a Cabinet minister.

Asked for comment, senior CEB officials said that there had been a PPA with V Power Holdings but it had been cancelled by the CEB. With the cancellation of the agreement, the company loses their rights for duty concessions, a top management level officer of the CEB told The Island.

Customs Media Spokesman and Deputy Director (Legal) Sudattha Silva said that the Compliance and Facilitation Division of the Department was conducting an investigation. He said he was not in a position to comment more as the investigation was in progress.

The V Power Holdings was accused of violating the Section 50 (A) (1) (a) (b) of the Customs Ordinance.

When contacted for comment, Chairman of Green Win Holdings Lanka Ltd, Vajira Wickramasinghe said. That there were two investigations into the aforementioned incidents.

“We signed the PPA with CEB as the Sri Lankan representative of the V Power Holdings of Hong Kong. The V Power Holdings’ Chief Commercial Officer sent a Singaporean of Lankan origin to work with us. Later, it was found that Singaporean with the help of a former director of our company, carried out the fraud. They have misused the canceled PPA to clear the consignment from the harbour. Now, the CCD says that they cannot find the Singaporean and the Lankan who have gone into hiding. I hope that the investigations will resume and the culprits will be caught so that justice will be done.”

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Financial contribution from Gift Sri Lanka Foundation and the Georgia Buddhist Vihara, USA, for disaster relief

Published

2 hours ago

2025/12/19

Priyan

In support of relief efforts for communities affected by the Ditwah cyclone, Gift Sri Lanka Foundation and the Georgia Buddhist Vihara (GBV), USA, have made a financial contribution of USD 16,000 to the Government’s ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund.

The relevant cheque was formally handed over on Thursday (18) afternoon at the Presidential Secretariat by the Chief Incumbent of the Georgia Buddhist Vihara, Most Venerable Panamwela Vajirabuddha Nayaka Thero, to the Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.

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European Union provides over Euro 2.35 million Humanitarian Assistance to Sri Lanka

Published

2 hours ago

2025/12/19

Priyan

The European Union has allocated a total of Euro 2.35 million of financial assistance to Sri Lanka. This includes Euro 500,000 through IFRC and Euro 1.85 million through DG-European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) partners, WFP and UNICEF as humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka, in response to the impact of Tropical Cyclone Ditwah,

In addition to the above allocation, the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), which brings together 37 participating States, all 27 EU member States, as well as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine, is providing in-kind assistance to Sri Lanka.

As a part of the UCPM in kind assistance being provided, on Wednesday, 17th December, Sri Lanka received an aid shipment, with two air cargo flights arriving in Colombo from Germany, France and Luxembourg. This aid shipment included 83 tonnes of relief items such as family tents, mattresses, hygiene and kitchen kits, beds and water filters. The supplies are intended for distribution among communities most affected by the cyclone.

The arrival of the assistance was welcomed by the EU Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Carmen Moreno, French Ambassador, Rémi Lambert, and the Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy, Sarah Hasselbarth. On behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, the donations were received by Sugeeshwara Gunaratna, Director General / Europe & North America, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment & Tourism and Chathura Liyanarachchi, Director, Disaster Management Center (DMC).

Italy has also provided a team of structural engineers to support Sri Lanka’s disaster assessment and recovery process.

Furthermore, the EU has activated its Copernicus Emergency Management Service (EMS) in rapid mapping mode, with around 30 maps produced so far.

The European Union has committed continued cooperation and support to Sri Lanka’s disaster recovery and rebuilding process, reaffirming the enduring friendship and strong partnership between Sri Lanka and the European Union.

News

Sajith: Met Dept. officials under virtual house arrest

Published

4 hours ago

2025/12/19

Thilina Walpola

Sajith Premadasa

… hands over proposal asking for PSC probe into govt.’s lapses

Opposition and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday accused the government of having gagged the Meteorology Department officials, who, he said, had been placed under virtual house arrest. He claimed that they had been barred from speaking to the media.

Speaking in Parliament, Premadasa said withholding information from the public was unacceptable. He insisted that the Meteorology Department and international agencies had repeatedly issued warnings about extreme weather events between November 11 and 26. He demanded to know why Sri Lanka’s disaster management mechanism had not been activated in a timely manner.

“The key issue is why the country’s disaster management system failed to respond when the risks were clearly identified,” he told the House, describing the lapse as a serious failure of governance.

Condemning attempts to silence officials, Premadasa said acknowledging mistakes was the only way forward. “If we are wrong, we should admit it. If we are right, we should say so. Silencing professionals will help solve problems.

The Opposition Leader also called for a National Disaster Response Force and amendments to the Disaster Management Act to strengthen preparedness and response mechanisms.

Premadasa and several other Opposition MPs have submitted a formal proposal to the Speaker seeking the appointment of a Parliamentary Select Committee to investigate the government’s failure to mitigate the impact of Cyclone Ditwah.

The Opposition has demanded a 30-member select committee tasked with producing a comprehensive report on the institutional and administrative failures during the disaster.

Describing the government’s lack of preparedness as deeply regrettable, the MPs have said that timely action would have helped save many lives and reduced the scale of destruction caused by the cyclone.

By Saman Indrajith ✍️