Exclusive: Another Scandal Rocks The United National Party
May 27, 2015
In what is acute embarrassment to the already shamed United National Party after the Treasury bond fiascois another very shocking scandal.
The Minister of Finance, Ravi Karunanayake asked the Director General of Customs Jagath P. Wijeweera to give sweeping duty concessions to his privately owned firm. He flatly refused the demand on the grounds that the country would lose millions of dollars. Because he could not continue to stand undue pressure being brought on him for favours costing millions to the country, Wijeweera tendered his resignation on Monday to Treasury Secretary Dr R.H.S. Samaratunga.
Though Wijeweera said he is quitting due to “personal reasons,” he confessed to close friends in the Customs Department he could not bear Karunanayake’s interference into fiscal matters not only on behalf of his private firm but also various suspicious businessmen. For his private company Global Park which provides warehousing and logistical services he had wanted duty concessions running into millions of dollars granted. Karunanayake had also been in the habit of telephoning Wijeweera almost every day to seek duty waivers, withdrawal of fines and other concessions for several businessmen. He told his friends that he could no longer continue to do things Karunanayake wanted and be answerable for public moneys.
On Monday night, as we reported, Karunanayake announced Wijeweera’s resignation and said the exact reason was not revealed. The Finance Minister claimed that Wijeweera might have resigned due to ongoing investigations to determine the reasons for the considerable loss that had been reported in the Customs Department in the recent past. A senior Customs officer handling revenue told Colombo Telegraph the Customs were now earning a record revenue of five billion rupees a day. The same officer said Wijeweera enjoyed President Sirisena’s confidence, regardless of allegations against him and therefore served in the Assets Recovery Task Force too.Read More
