CICT's 19mn donation to Pushpa Rajapaksa be investigated

Colombo (News1st) : Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera announced today (July 13th) that an investigation will be carried out to ascertain whether the money given to Former Minister Basil Rajapaksa's wife by a Chinese Company was used for the said projects. On Thursday (July 12th) Colombo International Container Terminals Limited (CICT) admitted it had given a sum of 19.4 Million Rupees or 150,000 US Dollars to Pushpa Rajapaksa, the wife of Former Minister Basil Rajapaksa. In a statement, the CICT said the donation was made in good faith for the construction of houses. It must be noted that 85% of the shares of CICT is owned by China Merchant Port Holdings. When questioned about the revelation UPFA MP Kanaka Herath stated that they would not be making a statement. MP Tharaka Balasuriya noted that the donated funds were used as housing aid for self-employed persons in the Gampaha district.  When pressed about the number of houses constructed using these funds, the MP stated that he does not know the exact details. UPFA MP D.V. Chanaka took a more bullish tone stating that this allegation, like others before it, would prove to be false. He noted that once they have all the details in their hands they would reveal it to the media. Minister of Finance and Mass Media, Mangala Samaraweera commenting on the matter stated that they have no idea if taxes were paid for the money that was reported by the New York Times. He noted that the Department of Inland Revenue should conduct an investigation to ascertain whether the said money was in fact used to build houses.