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The wife of Australian businessman Brian Shaddick, the third witness in the alleged financial fraud case filed against the two accused, including Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader MP Udaya Gammanpila on Friday informed the Colombo High Court that she had never put her signature executing a Power of Attorney to Gammanpila, for the selling of shares belonging to the Digital Nominees Company.

Witness Janet Elizabeth Shaddick, (69), was present before Colombo High Court A.A.R. Heiyanthuduwa in connection with an indictment filed against MP Udaya Gammanpila and Sydney Jayasinghe for allegedly misappropriating Rs.21 million following their alleged fraudulent share transaction that took place in 2000. In reply to a question raised by Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris regarding a power of attorney, the witness said her signature had been allegedly used.

“I was shocked to see this document because there are a number of forged things. Whoever put the signature was not known to me. It looks like this Power of Attorney was given by us for Gammanpila’s benefit. It is a silly act. I have not given such authority to Gammanpila,’ Shaddick said.

Meanwhile, after perusing the document in question, the witness said the handwriting in the document that looks like it was written by Gammanpila. When asked as to how she came to such a conclusion, the witness said she was familiar with Gammanpila’s handwriting since he had earlier sent a fax message with his handwriting.

‘Sydney Jayasinghe and Gammanpila were employees of our company. I was enthusiastic to learn about Buddhism. I wanted to ask Sydney Jayasinghe about the wife of The Buddha. He said he was a Christian and asked that this question be referred to Gammanpila.

“Udaya Gammanpila was an office boy of our company. He was employed under the recommendation of Sydney Jayasinghe. Gammanpila had sent me a fax message in his handwriting regarding the wife of The Buddha. So, I can recognize his handwriting which were written in block capital letters,” the witness said.

Meanwhile, the witness further said she was informed by his husband that Udaya Gammanpila and another person named Jagath had told him that there is a conspiracy to assassinate him by the youngest son of Sydney Jayasinghe. Thereafter, he did not come back to Sri Lanka until 2015,” the witness further added.

The witness was cross examined by Defence Counsel Nalinda Indatissa.

The Attorney General (AG) alleged that MP Udaya Gammanpila has cheated Rs.20 million and misappropriated another Rs. 21 million along with Sydney Jayasinghe, the second accused when selling shares of Digital Nominees to a businessman called Dhammika Perera.

The AG further charged that the alleged business transaction had taken place using a fraudulent Power of Attorney to sell shares belonging to Australian businessman Brian Shadick.

The AG has listed 20 persons as the witnesses in the case and named 16 documents as production items of the case. MP Gammanpila was arrested in this regard on June 18, 2016.

Source : Daily News

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said that he expects to reduce the Value Added Tax by 2.5% by the year 2020. As the entire population is burdened with heavy indirect taxes, steps would be taken to reduce the VAT to 12.5% from the current amount of 15%.

Samaraweera made these remarks at an event held at the Ministry of Finance to hand over letters of appointment to 68 newly recruited Assistant Superintendents of Customs. Speaking at the event, he emphasized that the new appointees were selected purely on merit and that there was no political intervention unlike in the past. According to the Customs Department, over 10,000 applicants had sat for the competitive exam with 227 passing.  68 were then selected after an extensive interview process.

The Minister noted that the government’s tax revenue base has been on a growing trend as the public are coming to terms with their responsibilities. Referring to the new Inland Revenue Act, he said that during the first month after the act was implemented, around 46,000 new tax files were opened.  He added that the Customs and the Inland Revenue Departments are the two main agencies that bring revenue to the government. 

"The Customs Ordinance we have is over 200 years old, introduced during the reign of Queen Victoria and therefore, a new Customs Act would be brought to Parliament before the next budget", he said. 

“It is the poor people who mostly pay taxes to the government by way of indirect taxes. We should relieve them of this burden. Therefore, I expect to reduce VAT by 2.5% in the year 2020”, The Minister declared.

We are still a divided nation

Minister Samaraweera went to say that even after 70 years of Independence, the country could not achieve peace as the people were still quarreling on the basis of race, religion and party politics. 

"After the 30 years of conflict, certain forces were trying to create an authoritarian rule under the guise of war. Fortunately, the revolutionary forces managed to change the destiny of the country in 2015. Since then, Sri Lanka has been revived under the three pillars of democracy, reconciliation and development".

Inherited a debt-ridden economy

While underscoring the importance of actively contributing to the economy by way of revenue collection, Minister Samaraweera said that this government inherited a debt-ridden country in 2015. However, the government has been able to manage the national debt stock and debt servicing by increasing the national revenue. 

"After independence in 1948, the highest amount of debt servicing has to be paid in 2018. The total foreign debt to be paid this year is USD 2,845 million of which USD 1,789 million has to be paid for government borrowings done before the year 2015. Only an installment of USD 1,056 needs to be paid for foreign loans borrowed after 2015.  Accordingly, 63% of debt installments to be paid this year are repayments of debts that had been borrowed during Mahinda Rajapaksa’s tenure as the Minister of Finance. It was at the level of 75% in 2017", he added.
According to the Minister, this situation would further worsen next year as USD 4,285 million have to be paid in 2019 of which USD 3,315 or 77% of the repayments are for debts obtained during the Rajapaksa regime.

Public debate on debt stock still in the balance

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday (22), Samaraweera challenged former Finance Minister and current Parliamentarian Mahinda Rajapaksa for a public debate on national debt stock and debt servicing. Even though Rajapaksa has not yet responded to the challenge, his son Namal was quick to offer a meek response by asking the Minister to focus on the current deluge instead of public debates.

Hundreds of Army troops across the flood-affected districts of Kegalle, Kalutara, Polonnaruwa, Kandy, Galle, Ratnapura, Gampaha, Puttalam, Matara, Kurunegala, Badulla, Colombo and elsewhere continue their rescue and relief operations in close coordination with Disaster Management Centre, District and Divisional Secretariats.19 members of the 9 Gemunu Watch troops of the 582 Brigade under the 58 Division on information that a feeble old woman living near a landslide prone house in the general hilly area of Yatagampitiya in Bulatsinhala, rushed there braving knee deep flood waters and rescued her before she was brought down to the safe area on a wheelchair to be sheltered in the Yatagampitiya Primary School on Friday (25). 

Troops of the same Brigade assisted Bulatsinhala Divisional Secretariat Office to pack up dry ration stocks, made available by Cargills (Pvt) Ltd for free distribution around 7.00 pm on Thursday (24).

On the directions of the Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake, all Security Force Headquarters, Divisions and Brigades across the island began to rush troops to island-wide vulnerable areas to provide relief and engage in rescue operations, if necessary in the wake of worsening weather conditions due to heavy rains that commenced around 20 May 2018 while mobilizing another group of soldiers to be alert to the worsening weather conditions.

Similarly, 1200 troops belonging to 24 regiments of the Army were meanwhile kept on standby to meet with any eventualities as rainy weather began to worsen in the past couple of hours.

Troops while attending to the priorities supported distribution of cooked meals, evacuation of victims from locations under water, stacking of sand bags to avoid bank splitting, immediate repair works, etc in worst-affected areas as situations warranted.

Source : Army Media

Interpol had officially informed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) that the former Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Arjun Mahendran, was indeed in Singapore. 

Arjun Mahendran's whereabouts were confirmed when the Attorney General's Department informed the Fort Magistrate's court today (24).
The former Governor had been absconding the court in connection to the case pertaining the treasury bond scam.

With torrential rains showing no signs of slowing down, most parts of the island are still being battered by heavy rains. Widespread floods experienced during the past few days have greatly affected the day to day lives of the people in almost two thirds of the country.

The onset of the Southwest monsoon has seen an unprecedented record of rainfall in the country. Floods, landslides, heavy winds and lightning related incidents have so far claimed 13 lives.

The government has mobilized the tri forces in strength to carry out rescue and relief operations. As of today, more than 820 tri forces troops have been mobilized for flood related relief operations in Gampaha, Colombo, Matara, Kalutara, Kegalle, Puttalam, Ratnapura, Galle, and Kurunegala areas. In addition 63 boats, armoured carriers, busses and trucks of the Army and Navy have also been put to use for this purpose.

7300 troops of the Sri Lanka Army, Navy and Air Force are on standby to be deployed in areas that are vulnerable, the Ministry of Defence said.

UPFA Puttalam District MP Sanath Nishantha Perera and his brother former Arachchikattuwa Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Jagath Samantha Perera have been further remanded until June 07.

Due to the hospitalization of Chilaw High Court Judge Sanjeewa Morayas, the case was taken up before High Court Registrar Ajith Jayasundara today (24). 

The Puttalam District MP and his brother are charged over the assault of the Arachchikattuwa Divisional Secretary and the case is being heard at the Chilaw High Court. 

Upon being granted bail in the case, a condition was set ordering the duo to appear before the Chilaw Police on every Sunday and place their signature. 

However, they have been accused of failing to appear at the police station since August 2017 and thereby violated their bail conditions. 

Source : Ada Derana

Sri Lankan government is said to have decided to handover an extensive report regarding the crimes and corrupt activities committed during the Rajapaksa regime by a dual citizen of Sri Lanka and the US, Former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.  

The report will include information on investigations carried out against him by the Criminal Investigation Division and the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) along with details on the steps taken by the Attorney General's Department and the Bribery Commission in this regard. 

The report will be filed under certain special provisions of the US Immigration & Nationality Act -IN sources said.

Father of Sri Lankan cricketer Danajaya Silva and Dehiwala - Mount Lavinia municipal councillor, Ranjan Silva was killed in a shooting last night. He had contested the recent election under the Pohottuwa symbol representing the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).

The incident had taken place around 8.30 pm last night in the Gnanendra Road, Ratmalana. According to Police, three people were injured in the incident while one victim, was declared dead after being admitted to the Kalubowila Hospital. Mount Lavinia Police are conducting further investigations according to Police Spokesperson SP Ruwan Gunasekara.

Britain’s Foreign Office destroyed almost 200 files on Sri Lanka dating from the start of the Tamil Tiger uprising during which MI5 and the SAS secretly advised the country’s security forces, it has emerged.

The loss of the files means that there is almost no record of the British government’s work with the Sri Lankan authorities at the start of a famously brutal civil war.

The destruction of the files raises fresh concerns about the Foreign Office’s attitude towards handling historic files on sensitive subjects. An official review in 2012 found that the department had destroyed thousands of documents detailing British counter-insurgency operations in Kenya and other colonies as the empire came to an end.

Under the Public Records Act 1958 government departments are obliged to preserve historic records. But, in response to a Freedom of Information request from the Guardian asking for information about the destruction of the files, the Foreign Office stated that it was not required to preserve the documents. It said the files’ content “may be of a policy nature but might also be administrative or ephemeral”.
The Foreign Office has now confirmed that it destroyed 195 files on Sri Lanka, dating from 1978 to 1980, three decades after the country became independent from Britain. The department would not say exactly when, where, or how the destruction occurred.

“Files not selected for permanent preservation would have been destroyed offsite by the company contracted by the FCO for this purpose,” it said. “We understand the files would have been destroyed in line with the FCO’s paper and file destruction contract in force at the time.”

Rachel Seoighe, a criminologist and Sri Lanka expert, at Middlesex University, said: “This discovery is very concerning given the lack of public information available about British involvement in Sri Lankan security practices at the beginning of the civil war.” She has filed a complaint with Unesco, the international body that protects world heritage. 

She added: “We know from other contexts, such as Kenya, that official files have been deliberately destroyed to conceal and deny abuse. The public has a right to know the extent to which Britain assisted Sri Lankan preparations for a war that was defined by disappearances, torture and mass atrocity.”

The Foreign Office kept a list of file titles, showing that the destroyed papers would have covered a range of important subjects, from security co-operation and arms sales, to foreign aid and “requests for political asylum in the UK”.

The scale of destruction is such that only three files have survived from 1978, compared to 38 files from the previous year.

Source: The Guardian

Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven. Galaboda Aththe Gnanasara Thero has been found guilty in the case filed against him for threatening Sandya Eknaligoda, the wife of missing journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda, within the Homagama court premises. 

The verdict in the case was delivered today (24) by Homagama Magistrate Udesh Ranatunga. The sentence is set to be delivered on June 14. 

Gnanasara Thero had verbally abused and threatened Sandya Eknaligoda at the Homagama Court on January 25, 2016 while Homagama Police filed a case against the Thero charging him with criminal harassment and criminal intimidation under the penal code.

For the third consecutive year, the Korea Program on International Agriculture (KOPIA) Sri Lanka Centre organized a training and exposure visit to South Korea for 10 selected farmers from the Galenbindunuwewa, Bulnewa and Hambantota model-villages, together with 02 officers from the Department of Agriculture (DOA).  The "International Farmer Group Leaders Training” hosted by the Rural Development Administration (RDA) of Korea took place from 13 to 19 May 2018, in the city of Jeonju-si. It provided a platform for members of the farming community from Sri Lanka and Paraguay to share and enhance their knowledge and experience in international agricultural practices adopted in onion farming. 

Since opening its resident office in Sri Lanka in 2011, KOPIA has worked together with the Ministry of Agriculture of Sri Lanka and the DOA to introduce modern Korean agriculture technology and know-how to Sri Lanka, to improve the quality and productivity of the local agro sector. KOPIA employs special survey methods and selection tools to identify key areas that require development in the local agriculture field and based on these findings, utilizes tailor-made methods to improve each sector. 

KOPIA continues to provide assistance to local farmers in multiple forms including but not limited to, the transfer of advanced technology, provision of materials and equipment, assigning Korean experts for selected agriculture sectors, organizing field trainings and workshops in Sri Lanka as well as hosting international training and exposure visits for the benefit of local farmers and DOA officers. Through these efforts, KOPIA aims to help Sri Lanka achieve self-sufficiency in the field of agriculture. 

Source : Korean Embassy Colombo