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Abuse of electric vehicle imports: President tells Treasury to act

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President Ranil Wickremesinghe has directed the Treasury to take a final decision about the continuity of the facility for migrant workers to import electric vehicles on concessionary terms, following complaints of abuse.

The presidential directive comes after the Treasury expressed concern to him over the facility being abused to a large extent amidst an inquiry by Customs, the Sunday Times learns.   Treasury sources said initial investigations had shown that there were abuses, including undervaluation of vehicles.

According to initial Customs reports, 119 vehicles have already been imported under the scheme, with 75 being imported by one company.

Among the vehicles imported are BMW (22), Mercedes Benz (13), Porsche (05), Ford Mustang (06), Audi (06), Tesla (04), Peugeot (08), MG (18), Volkswagen (22) and Nissan (10).

A Customs spokesman said the investigations would cover vehicles already imported and cleared, vehicles to be cleared, and vehicles that are being imported.

The investigators will look into the remittance brought into the country, the valuation, and whether the vehicles have been sold.

The scheme was introduced to attract direct foreign remittances into the country through recognised banking channels.

(sundaytimes.lk)

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Govt. intervention urged to resolve issues at USJ external degree unit

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Senior Lecturer Ven. Dambara Amila Thero has emphasised that the intervention of the government and University Grants Commission (UGC) is essential for a proper resolution to the prevailing crisis at the External Degrees and Extension Courses Unit of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.

Last Monday (June 23), the External Degrees and Extension Courses Unit of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura (USJ) announced that all seminars and registration activities of external degree programmes will be temporarily suspended from June 24.

The suspension is due to issues and ambiguities arising from University Grants Commission (UGC) circulars No. 932, 1/2016, and 4/2016, issued since 2010.

The university states that efforts are underway to resolve the matter, and academic activities will resume as soon as the issues are cleared.

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Court orders CID to probe Rs.90 mn. fraud at People’s Bank

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Colombo Fort Magistrate – Nilupuli Lankapura has directed the CID to launch a full investigation into an alleged Rs.90 million fraud at the state owned People’s Bank.

The order follows a motion filed by Senior Counsel Gunaratna Wanninayake over the incident said to have occurred nearly a decade ago, calling for the perpetrators to be caught.

Accordingly, the CID’s Commercial Crimes Division was instructed to identify those responsible and report progress by July 30th.

The case originated from a CID complaint filed on October 28, 2015, by Chairman of Yashoda Holdings (Pvt) Ltd – Yasasiri Kasthuriarachchi. The case alleges that forged documents were used to fraudulently secure a loan by transferring property ownership.

Senior Counsel Gunaratna Wanninayake informed the court that a loan of Rs.90 million was secured by mortgaging a 48-acre land in Pasyala worth Rs.4,000 million inherited by his client – Kasthuriarachchi. The loan was obtained from the state bank using forged documents and without the loan money ever reaching his clients’ accounts.

He further noted that loans of this scale from a state bank usually require board-level approval, yet no such approval is on record prompting the question of who misappropriated the Rs.90 million.

He requested a full investigation into the incident.

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‘Suwa Seriya’ paying extra rent amid bypassed rules

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The building housing the Suwa Seriya headquarters in Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte has overcharged the rent by millions over the officially assessed value.

An audit by the National Audit Office (NAO) has revealed that as a result over Rs.05 million than the officially assessed value had been paid every year.

According to the NAO report, the building’s owner rejected the government’s valuation and submitted a separate, higher assessment, which was ultimately accepted contrary to regulations.

Regulations require that when leasing a building, the institution’s head must first obtain an assessment from the Chief Valuer. As per established procedures, such disputes should be referred to the relevant ministry secretary if the Chief Valuer’s assessment is not accepted.

However, the audit found this process was not followed.

In response, Suwa Seriya management told the NAO that a decision was taken at a Board of Directors meeting in March 2025 to forward the rental matter to the Secretary of the Ministry of Health for approval.

(Source: Aruna)

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