rapa
06-12-2007, 04:47 PM
Kanthan connection: Deeper than cell phone links
The name Kuthupdeen- does it ring a bell? Of course it should, perhaps, alarm bells. He was the person implicated in the famous VAT scam amounting to a loss of billions of rupees to the country. However, not much progress has been made in the case after Kuthupdeen fled the country and is believed to be residing in Dubhai.
Another person to flee to Dubhai is Emil Kanthan, against whom there is an indictment on charges of attempted murder, pending in the Kalutara High Court. An open warrant is to be issued for his arrest and Interpol is being informed.
However, in the case of Kuthupdeen, no open warrant has been issued for his arrest. Kuthupdeen is learnt to have sold a vehicle to businessman Tiran Alles for Rs 52 million, and has reportedly given Rs. 100 million to purchase a property at Rosmead Place, for a group of companies, of which Alles was the Chairman. A person by the name of Muslin was the go-between in a deal where one of the companies- Communication and Business Equipment (Private) Limited- was to be a sub dealer for Dialog mobile phones in the North and East.
During the time Mangala Samaraweera held the Ports and Aviation portfolio, Alles was made the Chairman of Airport Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Limited (AASL) while Kuthupdeen was pursuing the possibility of starting a dry port.
A consignment of LTTE propaganda material is still lying in the port uncleared despite a business partner of Alles, Dushantha Basnayake standing surety for the consignment.
Sleuths from the Terrorist Investigations Division (TID) stumbled upon a major fraud involving the transfer of monies out of the country from the airport when Alles was the Chairman AASL.
The modus operandi was that certain passengers in the transit lounge were allegedly given large sums of foreign currency in brief cases, to be taken abroad.
The authorities maintain that when this racket was brought to the notice of Alles, he had not done anything about it.
In one case involving an Indian Muslim by the name of Mohamed Ali and Sri Lankan Muslims including Mugi, Naina Mohamed and Zainulabdeen, a sum of Rs. 80 million in foreign currency was about to be slipped out of the country, when the detection was made at the transit lounge. The flight was Chennai-Colombo-Singapore, with transit at Katunayake.
Alles was asked to resign his position in February this year and accordingly vacated it on February 12, three days after Aviation Minister Mangala Samaraweera was removed from the Cabinet. Chandima Rasaputra succeeded Alles as Chairman and the Sri Lanka Air Force was put in charge of overall security of the airport.
Judging by the sequence of events played out in public, it suggests that Alles was targeted after Samaraweera was removed. However, the reality is otherwise, where even Basnayake had indirectly admitted so in an affidavit last year, stating their accounts were frozen last year.
On March 14, 2007, a month after Samaraweera was removed from the Cabinet, four companies- Standard Newspapers (Private) Ltd, Standard Printers (Private) Ltd, Communication and Business Equipment (Private) Ltd and CBE Security (Private) Ltd- as separate petitioners, filed Fundamental Rights Applications S.C. F/R No. 89/2007, 90/2007, 91/ 2007 and 92/2007 in the Supreme Court. The four respondents in all these four cases were The Monetary Board of the Central Bank, Governor of the Central Bank, Ajith Nivard Cabral, Chief Executive Officer, Finance Intelligence Unit (FIU), George N. Fernando and the Attorney General. The first two petitioners withdrew their FR cases, as the freeze orders on their accounts were allowed to lapse.
The investigation into terrorist financing began way back in mid 2006, after the FIU was set up on June 2, 2006. Officers of the TID had gone to a particular bank to obtain certain information of suspicious transactions of companies. They had the wrong account numbers and as a result the banks refused to divulge details. However, that very day the CBE had been tipped off and tried to withdraw nearly Rs. 60 million, raising the suspicions of the bank. In terms of the new laws, banks are expected to report to the FIU any suspicious transactions or, any transaction over Rs 500,000 threshold. (The Money Laundering Act was passed in Parliament in 2006). The police moved the High Court to freeze more than 30 accounts of these four companies. A further extension of the freeze order for eight more weeks in respect of 12 of the 30 accounts was sought. The rest was allowed to lapse. Now another extension of the freeze order, in respect of only two more accounts, has been obtained, while the rest of the accounts could be operated and in fact, have been operated.
The Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation accounts were also frozen last year, in keeping with the new laws.
Meanwhile, CBE came under a cloud last year when arrested Tiger cadres had admitted that they were given mobile phones by the Tiger leaders. These mobile connections were granted by the sub contractor CBE operating in the North and East. The sub contractor was learnt to have been paid a substantial percentage of each bill by the parent company, in terms of the legal agreement.
It is also learnt that Emil Kanthan had run up bills of four mobile phones up to Rs. 3 million and CBE had requested the parent mobile company to increase the credit limit, undertaking responsibility.
Kanthan’s list of telephone calls are being probed by sleuths who have come up with valuable information.
The CBE has also paid up to nearly Rs. 20 million for both the purchase of land in Pita Kotte and later building upon it for Emil Kanthan’s mother. The transaction was done by the company’s Finance Director Dushantha Basnayake who was also arrested. Some 30 vehicles, including many luxury types, such as Benz and Volvo, were also bought on lease agreements by the TNJ Company, allegedly set up by Alles in Kanthan’s name. UNP MP Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena stood surety for these agreements. However, the bank was compelled to write off these as bad debts, after reports that most of these vehicles had found their way to the uncleared areas. (Kanthan’s driver was supposed to have owned or used one of these luxury vehicles).
Emil Kanthan, who was placed in the Kalutara prison, on suspected terrorism charges, had assaulted Douglas Devananda in 2001, when the latter visited the prison, and an indictment in the Kalutara High Court, for attempted murder, is pending. A previous indictment in the High Court of Vavuniya, for terrorist activities, was dismissed, as the confession did not hold. The confessions had to be made to an ASP or a police officer above that rank.
The authorities claim they have the option of charging suspects under the Terrorist Financing Laws for actions in the past year or, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act or, the normal criminal law.
In a separate case S.C. F/R application No. 93/2007, CBE as a petitioner cited the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka, its director general Kanchana Ratwatte, Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Dialog Telecom Limited and the AG as respondents.
Leave to proceed in this and the cases not withdrawn was granted by the Supreme Court, which however failed to grant interim relief and allowed the Attorney General to file objections before July 13.
Romesh De Silva P.C. along with Sugath Caldera and Eraj de Silva appeared for the petitioner while Additional Solicitor General Satya Hettige, P.C., appeared for the Attorney General along with Deputy Solicitor General Dias Wickremesinghe and State Counsel Shaheed Barrie. In the other two cases Deputy Solicitors General Buweneka Aluwihare and D.P.J. Aluwihare appeared for the AG and other respondents.
In the case 93/2007, the bench queried as to how the Defence Secretary could issue orders to stop call off the service. The relevant Emergency provisions were also looked into but the court was not satisfied but allowed the AG to file objections on Wednesday.
The petitioner Alles, who has been arrested, has given an affidavit that is in safe keeping, to the effect that several key government personalities had dealings with Emil Kanthan and it would be interesting to see how these developments have an effect on the larger probe that began with the setting up of the FIU long before the former Minister Mangala Samaraweera and his confidants fell out with the government.
Nation (10-06-2007)
The name Kuthupdeen- does it ring a bell? Of course it should, perhaps, alarm bells. He was the person implicated in the famous VAT scam amounting to a loss of billions of rupees to the country. However, not much progress has been made in the case after Kuthupdeen fled the country and is believed to be residing in Dubhai.
Another person to flee to Dubhai is Emil Kanthan, against whom there is an indictment on charges of attempted murder, pending in the Kalutara High Court. An open warrant is to be issued for his arrest and Interpol is being informed.
However, in the case of Kuthupdeen, no open warrant has been issued for his arrest. Kuthupdeen is learnt to have sold a vehicle to businessman Tiran Alles for Rs 52 million, and has reportedly given Rs. 100 million to purchase a property at Rosmead Place, for a group of companies, of which Alles was the Chairman. A person by the name of Muslin was the go-between in a deal where one of the companies- Communication and Business Equipment (Private) Limited- was to be a sub dealer for Dialog mobile phones in the North and East.
During the time Mangala Samaraweera held the Ports and Aviation portfolio, Alles was made the Chairman of Airport Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Limited (AASL) while Kuthupdeen was pursuing the possibility of starting a dry port.
A consignment of LTTE propaganda material is still lying in the port uncleared despite a business partner of Alles, Dushantha Basnayake standing surety for the consignment.
Sleuths from the Terrorist Investigations Division (TID) stumbled upon a major fraud involving the transfer of monies out of the country from the airport when Alles was the Chairman AASL.
The modus operandi was that certain passengers in the transit lounge were allegedly given large sums of foreign currency in brief cases, to be taken abroad.
The authorities maintain that when this racket was brought to the notice of Alles, he had not done anything about it.
In one case involving an Indian Muslim by the name of Mohamed Ali and Sri Lankan Muslims including Mugi, Naina Mohamed and Zainulabdeen, a sum of Rs. 80 million in foreign currency was about to be slipped out of the country, when the detection was made at the transit lounge. The flight was Chennai-Colombo-Singapore, with transit at Katunayake.
Alles was asked to resign his position in February this year and accordingly vacated it on February 12, three days after Aviation Minister Mangala Samaraweera was removed from the Cabinet. Chandima Rasaputra succeeded Alles as Chairman and the Sri Lanka Air Force was put in charge of overall security of the airport.
Judging by the sequence of events played out in public, it suggests that Alles was targeted after Samaraweera was removed. However, the reality is otherwise, where even Basnayake had indirectly admitted so in an affidavit last year, stating their accounts were frozen last year.
On March 14, 2007, a month after Samaraweera was removed from the Cabinet, four companies- Standard Newspapers (Private) Ltd, Standard Printers (Private) Ltd, Communication and Business Equipment (Private) Ltd and CBE Security (Private) Ltd- as separate petitioners, filed Fundamental Rights Applications S.C. F/R No. 89/2007, 90/2007, 91/ 2007 and 92/2007 in the Supreme Court. The four respondents in all these four cases were The Monetary Board of the Central Bank, Governor of the Central Bank, Ajith Nivard Cabral, Chief Executive Officer, Finance Intelligence Unit (FIU), George N. Fernando and the Attorney General. The first two petitioners withdrew their FR cases, as the freeze orders on their accounts were allowed to lapse.
The investigation into terrorist financing began way back in mid 2006, after the FIU was set up on June 2, 2006. Officers of the TID had gone to a particular bank to obtain certain information of suspicious transactions of companies. They had the wrong account numbers and as a result the banks refused to divulge details. However, that very day the CBE had been tipped off and tried to withdraw nearly Rs. 60 million, raising the suspicions of the bank. In terms of the new laws, banks are expected to report to the FIU any suspicious transactions or, any transaction over Rs 500,000 threshold. (The Money Laundering Act was passed in Parliament in 2006). The police moved the High Court to freeze more than 30 accounts of these four companies. A further extension of the freeze order for eight more weeks in respect of 12 of the 30 accounts was sought. The rest was allowed to lapse. Now another extension of the freeze order, in respect of only two more accounts, has been obtained, while the rest of the accounts could be operated and in fact, have been operated.
The Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation accounts were also frozen last year, in keeping with the new laws.
Meanwhile, CBE came under a cloud last year when arrested Tiger cadres had admitted that they were given mobile phones by the Tiger leaders. These mobile connections were granted by the sub contractor CBE operating in the North and East. The sub contractor was learnt to have been paid a substantial percentage of each bill by the parent company, in terms of the legal agreement.
It is also learnt that Emil Kanthan had run up bills of four mobile phones up to Rs. 3 million and CBE had requested the parent mobile company to increase the credit limit, undertaking responsibility.
Kanthan’s list of telephone calls are being probed by sleuths who have come up with valuable information.
The CBE has also paid up to nearly Rs. 20 million for both the purchase of land in Pita Kotte and later building upon it for Emil Kanthan’s mother. The transaction was done by the company’s Finance Director Dushantha Basnayake who was also arrested. Some 30 vehicles, including many luxury types, such as Benz and Volvo, were also bought on lease agreements by the TNJ Company, allegedly set up by Alles in Kanthan’s name. UNP MP Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena stood surety for these agreements. However, the bank was compelled to write off these as bad debts, after reports that most of these vehicles had found their way to the uncleared areas. (Kanthan’s driver was supposed to have owned or used one of these luxury vehicles).
Emil Kanthan, who was placed in the Kalutara prison, on suspected terrorism charges, had assaulted Douglas Devananda in 2001, when the latter visited the prison, and an indictment in the Kalutara High Court, for attempted murder, is pending. A previous indictment in the High Court of Vavuniya, for terrorist activities, was dismissed, as the confession did not hold. The confessions had to be made to an ASP or a police officer above that rank.
The authorities claim they have the option of charging suspects under the Terrorist Financing Laws for actions in the past year or, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act or, the normal criminal law.
In a separate case S.C. F/R application No. 93/2007, CBE as a petitioner cited the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka, its director general Kanchana Ratwatte, Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Dialog Telecom Limited and the AG as respondents.
Leave to proceed in this and the cases not withdrawn was granted by the Supreme Court, which however failed to grant interim relief and allowed the Attorney General to file objections before July 13.
Romesh De Silva P.C. along with Sugath Caldera and Eraj de Silva appeared for the petitioner while Additional Solicitor General Satya Hettige, P.C., appeared for the Attorney General along with Deputy Solicitor General Dias Wickremesinghe and State Counsel Shaheed Barrie. In the other two cases Deputy Solicitors General Buweneka Aluwihare and D.P.J. Aluwihare appeared for the AG and other respondents.
In the case 93/2007, the bench queried as to how the Defence Secretary could issue orders to stop call off the service. The relevant Emergency provisions were also looked into but the court was not satisfied but allowed the AG to file objections on Wednesday.
The petitioner Alles, who has been arrested, has given an affidavit that is in safe keeping, to the effect that several key government personalities had dealings with Emil Kanthan and it would be interesting to see how these developments have an effect on the larger probe that began with the setting up of the FIU long before the former Minister Mangala Samaraweera and his confidants fell out with the government.
Nation (10-06-2007)