Colombo Chief Magistrate Prasanna Alwis yesterday (12) ordered the Inland Revenue Department to hand over the income tax reports of directors of Onmax DT private company, which allegedly engaged in pyramid schemes, to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
The Magistrate issued the order after considering a request by the CID.
If the Onmax DT Directors Sampath Sandaruwan, Athula Indika, Dhananjaya Jayanath, Saranga Jayanath and Gayashan pay income taxes, the court ordered all these reports to be given to the CID immediately.
Earlier, the court issued an order prohibiting the sale of lands and property owned by Onmax DT Director Sampath Sandaruwan.
The investigations were carried out by the CID after it was revealed that Rs.790 million was deposited in the accounts owned by company directors which were banned by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
The National Transport Commission (NTC) has said that an investigation into the recent incident where a student fell from the footboard of a ‘Sisu Sariya’ school bus, has revealed that the accident had resulted from the careless and negligent behaviour of both the driver and the conductor.
Issuing a statement, the NTC noted that, based on the preliminary findings, the Road Passenger Transport Authority of the North Western Province has taken steps to temporarily suspend the services of the driver and conductor involved.
Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation – K.D. Lal Kantha has announced that the government has decided to import 300,000 MT of maize.
Speaking to the media after attending a District Development Committee meeting at the Kandy District Secretariat yesterday (July 03), the Minister explained that this decision was taken to prevent traders from artificially inflating maize prices.
He stated that certain large and medium-scale businesses dealing with animal feed have been hoarding maize, buying it from farmers at fair prices and reselling it at much higher rates.
According to the Minister, these traders were trying to push maize prices up to Rs.190-200 per kilogram, which would have driven up the cost of eggs to Rs.200 each and increased meat prices significantly.
The Minister emphasized that while businesses are entitled to make a profit, the government will not allow unfair price manipulation. He also noted that, in the past, even ministers profited from animal products, but those days have ended and racketeers will not be allowed to control the market.
To prevent excessive price drops that could hurt farmers, the Food Security Committee has proposed imposing a tax on imported maize, he said.
