Police complaint against Packer

Tuesday, 12 November 2013 01:30 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Opposition turns the heat on Aussie casino king as he arrives in Colombo to address CBF By Dharisha Bastians Sri Lanka’s main Opposition has filed a criminal complaint against Australian casino tycoon James Douglas Packer, hours after he arrived in the country yesterday to address the Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF 2013) that commences this morning. In its complaint, the Opposition is requesting the Police Department and the IGP to take urgent action to investigate Packer and his team who have arrived in the island to set up an illegal casino operation. UNP Parliamentarian Dr. Harsha De Silva, who has led the anti-Packer campaign in Sri Lanka, was accompanied by MPs Ruwan Wijewardene and Ajith Perera to Police Headquarters in Fort last afternoon where the complaint was filed “against the individual James Packer,” an Australian national. The complaint, number CIB I 39/23, cites that casinos are illegal in Sri Lanka. “As of January 2012, unless a person has obtained a valid licence to operate a casino, all casinos become illegal,” De Silva told reporters outside Police HQ after filing the complaint. “We are made to understand that a gentleman by the name of James Packer, an Australian citizen has arrived in Sri Lanka to commit a crime – the crime is to operate an illegal casino. If the Police can apply the law on small-time casinos, the Police must also apply the same law on big-time casinos,” De Silva said. The UNP MP said that the team of Opposition Parliamentarians had come to police HQ to inform the authorities that they had reliable information that Packer and his team had arrived in Sri Lanka to plot to commit this crime. De Silva said that last week 43 persons had been arrested in connection with running an illegal casino in Town Hall. Casino Mogul James Packer was scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka to present a keynote address at the Commonwealth Business Forum that kicks off at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel today. Packer’s proposed Crown Sri Lanka integrated resort facility has come under strong fire from the Opposition and civil and religious

groups after the project was granted major tax concessions by the Government. The UNP claims Packer’s presence in Sri Lanka during CHOGM 2013 was to smooth out the tangles that have arisen over his Crown Sri Lanka project to ensure it can get off the ground. De Silva claimed the Government is attempting to pass off Crown Sri Lanka, slated to open in Colombo in 2017, as a major investment arising from the Commonwealth Business Forum. Australia’s Herald Sun newspaper reported yesterday that Packer was in Colombo to lobby the Sri Lankan Government over his plans for the resort. The Chairman of Crown is expected to meet key Government officials and potential joint venture partners today, the newspaper said. A group of UNP MPs including Ruwan Wijewardene, Harsha De Silva and Ajith P. Perera yesterday lodged a complaint with the Police Headquarters against Australin business tycoon James packer who is currently in Sri Lanka to participate in the Commonwealth Heads of State Meeting (CHOGM) business forum – Pic by Nisal Baduge