AG Advices IGP To Pursue Probes On Avant Garde For Money Laundering
October 18, 2015
A team of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officers conducting investigations on the latest vessel carrying a consignment of arms for Avant Garde Maritime Services have sealed several containers with weapons.
Former secretary to the MOD – Gotabaya
According to Police sources, officers have found a stock of weapons with foreign serial numbers inside the ship which are not compatible with the documents issued by the defence authorities.
The CID officers began their examination of the ship which is currently docked at the Galle harbour on Saturday night. They had carried out the examination of the ships cargo and questioning of the crew through out today as well.
After examining the ship the CID officers have taken steps to seal three containers with weapons
Meanwhile, the Attorney General has advised the Inspector General of Police to pursue probes on the Avant Garde under the Money Laundering act while discarding possible charges under the firearms ordinance and prevention of terrorism act citing lack of evidence.
The AG’s stand has come under severe criticism from a number of quarters. According to sources some highly placed officials from the AG’s department itself have pointed out that there is enough evidence to charge the Avant Garde under the firearms ordinance.
However, the AG for the time being has strictly ruled out any charges being filed under the firearms ordinance or the PTA.
But according to highly placed sources in the defence establishment, the AG will be forced to change his stand as CID officers probing the latest case have found out serious discrepancies in the documents approved by the Defence Ministry and the weapons cache contained in the floating armoury.
Two days ago Avant Garde Maritime Services (Pvt) Ltd issued the statement below;
Avant Garde Maritime Services (Pvt) Ltd Media Release With Regard To Merchant Vessel Avant Garde
Proliferation of sea piracy in the Western Indian Ocean resulted in International Maritime Organization (IMO) establishing a High Risk Area in which piracy threat was greater. Many Western Private Maritime Security Companies (PMSCs) started providing security to ships in this HRA, and since Sri Lanka was at one end of the HRA based their operations off Sri Lanka. They also obtained the required weapons belonging to Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) from Rakna Arakshaka Lanka Ltd (RALL) for convenience.
Whilst providing these weapons to those maritime security companies, 197 weapons belonging to GOSL were misplaced, as once issued from Colombo, there was no way of monitoring them.
Avant Garde then conceptualised and proposed to GOSL a system to eliminate any possibility of misplacing, but instead properly account for weapons once issued by RALL, through the establishment of many operational centres in the periphery of the Indian Ocean in a ‘Closed Circuit Network’ (CCN) where any RALL weapon issued from one location had to be returned to any other location of this closed circuit network. Floating Armouries were to complement the CCN wherever land operational centres were not possible. Then there was to be a guarantee that any weapon issued would be returned. The proposal also entailed that the entire investment to be borne by Avant Garde without a cent being invested by GOSL. Read More
