The Colombo High Court yesterday (June 12) had ordered to confiscate over Rs. 201 million in a private bank account of a Chinese businessman who was involved in the gem trade without a licence.
Colombo High Court Judge Adithya Patabendige sentenced the businessman, found guilty of money laundering, to a two years’ rigorous imprisonment, suspended for 15 years.
The case was filed by the Attorney General’s Department accusing the suspect of 03 charges.
The accused was found guilty only on the charge of depositing the proceeds from the gem trade in a bank account without a licence.
Considering the facts, the Colombo High Court Judge had ordered the suspension and confiscation of Rs.201,664,274.20 that he had earned through illegal activities.
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.