Anti-Corruption Activist claims Ministers connected to vehicle scam

COLOMBO (News 1st); Anti-Corruption Activist Wasantha Samarasinghe claims a cabinet paper has been produced seeking approval for a vehicle assembly scam in the country.

'This cabinet paper has been sighed by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa,' he alleged at a media briefing in Colombo on Sunday (27) adding that even the Prime Minister is not aware of the contents in the cabinet paper.

Samarasinghe said in 2002 the BOI granted approval to assemble vehicles in Sri Lanka as an investment project of $ 500 Million.

'However, what they are trying to do now is to bring down the deassembled vehicles from Japan, assemble it here and then register it with the state for sale in the country," he said.

He went on to note the said company in question had only invested Rs. 500,000 and the investment was not approved.

Wasantha Samarasinghe said the vehicle racketeer is not investigated by police as Cabinet Minister are also using vehicles provided by him.