• In Parliament alleges probe ordered by President will be an eyewash 
• Reveals questionable remittances worth millions of dollars from China to Nadesan's account from December 2012 to November 2014 during previous Rajapaksa era

SJB Parliamentarian S.M. Marikkar

Main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Parliamentarian S.M. Marikkar yesterday alleged that the Government was attempting to sweep the Pandora papers under the carpet and the investigation will be an

eyewash.

Speaking in Parliament, the SJB MP said the Government appears to be intent in sweeping the Pandora papers under the carpet, allegedly linking it to non-Rajapaksa regime era prior to 1994. The latter is because money laundering regulations were introduced in Sri Lanka only in 2006.

However, Marikkar said a substantial amount of ill-gotten funds had come much after.

In his speech Marrikar revealed some astonishing findings from an investigation done by the ‘Yahapalanaya’ regime soon after assuming office on Thirukumar Nadesan, the husband of former Rajapaksa-regime Deputy MP Nirupama Rajapaksa, and his alleged links to a palace in Malwana. 

“As per investigations, between December 2012 to November 2014, $ 2.4 million funds had come from a company called ‘Redruth’ via HSBC – Hong Kong to the NTB Cinnamon Gardens branch. Thereafter, from January to November 2014, a further $ 1.3 million had arrived in another account of Nadesan, totaling $ 3.7 million. Overall, total funds amounted to $ 5.9 million,” Marikkar told Parliament. 

According to him, the funds had been transmitted by China Cement Engineering and China National Machinery. 

“These remittances were during the Rajapaksa regime and the ill-gotten wealth has already come to Sri Lanka,” he added.

Marikkar alleged the funds were payback by the Chinese and linked Sri Lanka Government payments amounting to Rs. 4 billion to Chinese firms in connection to the Gin Nilawala project just prior to the 2015 Presidential election, which the Rajapaksa’s lost. 

“Between December 2014 and early January 2015, Rs. 4 billion was remitted,” claimed the SJB MP, reading out from a document during his speech in Parliament.

In that context, Marikkar alleged that the decision to appoint a Commission to probe the Pandora papers was an eyewash. He said that the Government has been using the much-touted 2/3 majority mainly to do wrong things, such as facilitating the entry of black money to Sri Lanka and turning them to white via the Finance Act, which offered tax amnesty.

He alleged that even the former Prime Minister appointed many committees on the Central Bank Bond scam to delay action and he paid the price by losing office. Marikkar warned of further revelations in Parliament in the coming days on the Pandora papers. 

In his remarks, the SJB MP also said that the latest trick of the Government is to postpone elections. “This is because of growing unpopularity within the masses given the economic, foreign exchange, food and essential items crises, apart from the pandemic.”

He recalled in the 1970s when Dudley Senanayake promised rice, Sirimavo Bandarnaike bettered it by saying she will give more even from the moon.  “Then the slogans were “We will drink tea without sugar, have gravy without chilies, and if Madam says, we will even eat hay”, and the other was “Sirimavo sridevi seeni nethuwa te devi,” Marikar recalled, adding that people were fooled by the SLFP to win the election.  However, the promised prosperity didn’t follow suit, and there was a suppression of rights, including that of the media and the wide use of Police powers. 

“We are seeing a repeat, considering the fact that essential goods such as rice, sugar are no longer affordable, or available for people along with militarisation,” the SJB MP alleged, adding that like J. R. Jayewardene won a rare landslide with a 5/7th majority, the SJB will triumph at the next election, even though the Government is hell-bent on delaying polls.

Bribery Commission records statement from Nadesan