Sugar scam didn't occur : Mahindananda

COLOMBO (News1st): Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage has said that a sugar scam had not occurred as a result of reducing the import levy on sugar. "These are fake allegations levelled against the government. I assure you that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will not allow any fraud or looting within the government," the minister said. However, former speaker Karu Jayasuriya pointed out that the Committee on Public Finance and the treasury have conceded that a scam had occurred. "The tax on imported sugar was reduced when the consignment had arrived in the island and had been increased as it left the country," Jayasuriya said. He insisted that those responsible must be punished following an investigation.