Dayasiri questions inaction against Jaya Sudhir Jayaram

Colombo (News 1st): On March 27th, 2018 News 1st revealed that a Singaporean company is planning to invest in the EAP group which was facing a financial crisis. We pointed out that this company was registered on January 12th last year. However, News 1st revealed the true identity of the person behind this deal. We revealed that a person by the name of Jaya Sudhir Jayaram who was arrested by Sri Lanka customs for money laundering was the force behind this deal. This exposé by News 1st was confirmed in parliament today (May 23). Speaking in parliament State Minister Eran Wickremeratne said that Jaya Sudhir Jayaram was detained at the Bandaranaike International airport on November 10th, 2016 when he attempted to leave the country with undeclared foreign currency. He had attempted to smuggle US$ 108,000 together with another individual named T. Kiyon Min. According to State Minister Eran Wickremerathne, Jaya Sudhir Jayaram had said that he was travelling to Dubai for an important business meeting. The state minister also confirmed that Jaya Sudhir Jayaram was released upon the oral approval of the Director General of Customs and the provincial DIrector of Customs. It was revealed in parliament today that the money the suspects attempted to smuggle overseas was confiscated. UPFA MP Dayasiri Jayasekara speaking regarding this matter noted that he has never heard of an instance where when two suspects are detained for attempting to smuggle money of about US$ 100,000 from the country. He added that one suspect was detained while the other suspect was released because he had some urgent business to attend. He questioned the parliament as to who approved it. Responding to this State Minister Eran Wickremeratne noted that they have taken this decision within the framework of the Customs Ordinance. He pointed out that there is a problem in the law. State Minister Wickremeratne believes that when these sort of incidents happen it is appropriate to inform the Police and the TID. MP Jayasekara went onto question, "if this person is a large scale thief how was he released like this at that time? Has any action been taken against them?" He added that it is under these individuals that an attempt is being made to purchase a television company in the country, through the central bank. He questioned the government, this person is now coming back to Sri Lanka, it is unsure if he is being brought back while holding his hand or any other way, but it is with this money that he is trying to purchase this television company. MP Dayasiri Jayasekara noted that this is clearly smuggling, taking illicit money out of Sri Lanka. He asked if the government is paving the way for people like this to purchase a television company in the country through the central bank. Responding to this State Minister Wickremerathne noted,

"Hon. MP I can't say that about this specific individual. I cannot say what he is going to purchase and what he's not going to purchase. And I cannot confirm if this is the same person or not. I cannot speak on what I do not know. But there are limits in the law. I believe that we should tighten the law in this area."