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Rubber Corp. fraud : CID seeks AG's advice to quiz Ratnasiri

by Sarath Malalasekera

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probing the alleged massive fraud at the Sri Lanka Rubber Manufacturing and Export Corporation filing a further report yesterday before the Colombo Fort Magistrate and Additional District Judge Priyantha Fernando said that a colossal amount of money had been released to the Corporation by the Treasary on the direction of former Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake. The CID has sought the advice of the Attorney General to record a statement from Ratnasiri Wickremanayake in this connection.

The three suspects, former Corporation Chairman Sarath Wickremasinghe, accountant Ms. V. G. Delduwa and the factory manager Upul Nanda Munasinghe were further remanded yesterday till September 18. Earlier the CID said that they would question eight Secretaries of the Plantation Industries Ministry within the next few days.

Some of the secretaries who had been employed at the Plantation Industries Ministry during the period 1998 to 2001 have already retired from service while the others are still working, the investigators said. The CID will also question a Senior Additional Secretary who had been responsible for the money transaction. Investigations revealed that the Treasury had released this amount of money to the Corporation as a loan to be re paid in ten years with interest.

Earlier the Colombo Fort Magistrate and Additional District Judge Priyantha Fernando allowed an application by the CID to question and record statements of the three suspects now in remand custody. The CID also recorded a statement from PERC Chairman Dr. P. B. Jayasundera.

The CID revealed that Rs. 2.5 million had been used to purchase land from various parts of the country to set up factories. But not a single deed in respect of such land transactions is available. The CID had appointed a special team to peruse all bank accounts of the Corporation and vouchers issued during the last six years.

The CID team investigating the racket questioned several VVIP's in connection with the alleged misuse of the funds released to the Corporation when President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was the Finance Minister.

A sum of Rs. 900.34 million had been released by the Treasury to the Rubber Manufacturing and Export Corporation during the last regime.

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