Serious fraud behind the importation of luxury vehicles- Anura Kumara Dissanayake reveals

Letters of credit to import 227 luxury vehicles for MPs have been opened without the approval of the Cabinet and there is a huge fraud behind the decision to import vehicles, says the Leader of the JVP Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

Speaking at a media briefing, the JVP leader said that the current market value of a proposed jeep that is to be imported is Rs. 50 million. He added that the $ 18 million needed to import 227 vehicles can be used to purchase 3.6 million of AstraZeneca vaccines and 1.8 million Sinopharm vaccines at its actual price of $ 10 per each.

He further stated that this transaction was not done only for the purpose of importing vehicles for the Members of Parliament and that there is a big fraud behind this.

“The cabinet paper was presented on May 18th. It was a special cabinet meeting. Approval was sought to open letters of credit to import above vehicles. Cabinet approval is usually given at the following Cabinet meeting. That was scheduled on the 24th of May. But newspapers reported on May 24th that the Cabinet had canceled the decision to import vehicles. Then there is no approved cabinet paper in this regard.

“So how could credit be opened without a cabinet paper? I have the relevant documents. It states that the letters of credit were opened on April 22, 2021 and the Cabinet approval was sought May 18th. What has been done here is opening the letters of credit before getting the cabinet approval. There has been a deal. It was only after the deal that they have remembered to get the cabinet approval. This cabinet paper has been presented to cover up the fraud.

Now Keheliya says letters of credit cannot be canceled. So, there is a serious fraud here. They also embezzle on the vehicles imported for their use. That is why the deal is made without the approval of the Cabinet. Public tenders were not called for the importation of these vehicles. No bids were called. Therefore, it is highly suspicious if a big fraud is taking place here.”

He added that the importation of these vehicles should be stopped and this kind of spending should be stopped when there is not enough money to control the epidemic in the country. He also said that it should be investigated who opened the letters of credit without the approval of the cabinet.

Dissanayake said that if the importation cannot be stopped, the vehicles should be sold at a public auction after being imported and a sum of Rs. 1135 Crore could be raised and that it could be used to pay off the country’s debts, or the money should be given to the displaced people, the businessmen whose businesses collapsed due to the Covid pandemic, the citizens who lost their income and the people who were displaced by the floods.

Below is his full speech at the press briefing:

The decision to import luxury vehicles for MPs has been controversial. Our country is currently facing a huge dollar deficit. In June last year the government stopped the import of vehicles completely. Imports of auto parts, perfumes, cereals and even turmeric were stopped

Government went begging for loans from various states to cover the dollar deficit. Finally, Mahinda Rajapaksa even asked for a loan of US $ 200 million from Bangladesh. Meanwhile the government has decided to import a large number of vehicles. Among them are 227 Prado jeeps for MPs. The government hopes to spend US $ 18 million on all these.

We ask the people if they are okay with their elected ruler using luxury vehicles imported at a cost of US $ 18 million when there is a shortage of US dollars in the country? We ask the citizens to defeat this crooked politics.

Now our country has been plagued by a pandemic. Many have lost their ways of income. Businesses have collapsed. Vegetable and fish products could not be sold. People have been stuck at home for months and sometimes with no way to buy a packet of milk powder for the children. People have not been able to get food to live on. The majority of the country’s citizens are in great distress.

The government says that they do not have the money to buy the health equipment and vaccines needed to control the epidemic. People in areas like Embilipitiya raise money to buy PCR machines. Hospital directors request various assistance to complete the minimum facilities in hospitals. There was no money to buy the vaccines when needed. Meanwhile, assistance has to be sought from various states to obtain the vaccine. Despite all these circumstances, it was decided to import vehicles.

If the AstraZeneca vaccine is to be imported using this $ 18 million instead of luxury vehicles, 36 million vaccines could be imported. If the actual price of Sinopharm in China is $10, 1.8 million vaccines can be imported. Millions of citizens can be vaccinated that way.

Some 600,000 who received the AstraZeneca vaccine are in distress without being able to get the second dose. When things are like this, rulers import vehicles to support their luxurious lifestyles. How stupid are these rulers? Can such stupid leaders develop the country? What kind of rulers have such an idea? What kind of inhuman rulers? These jeeps are being imported to fulfill the promise made to the MPs to support the Port City Act.

Today the market value of this jeep is around Rs. 50 million. 227 jeeps. Does the Member of Parliament you are voting for have to get in a vehicle worth that much to come to your village? Therefore, we ask the government to stop this vehicle order. Now the government says this cannot be stopped. Letters of credit are difficult to cancel. However, when the government stopped the importation of vehicles, a large number of letters of credit were allowed to expire. Then the letters of credit were canceled. Therefore, now too the government can allow these letters of credit to be canceled.

The next suggestion is to sell the vehicles at a public auction after importing them if the import cannot be stopped. 227 vehicles each at 5 Crores, 1135 Crores can be made. This wealth can be used to pay off the country’s debt. Or give to the displaced people, to the businessmen whose businesses collapsed due to the Covid, to the citizens who lost their income, to the people who were displaced by the floods. We as a party do not use these vehicles. We will tell you later what we do with them.

This deal is not just for importing vehicles for MPs. There is a big fraud behind this. The cabinet paper was presented on May 18th. It was a special cabinet meeting.

Approval was sought to open letters of credit to import above vehicles. Cabinet approval is usually given at the following Cabinet meeting. That was scheduled on the 24th of May. But newspapers reported on May 24th that the Cabinet had canceled the decision to import vehicles. Then there is no approved cabinet paper in this regard.

So how could credit be opened without a cabinet paper? I have the relevant documents. It states that the letters of credit were opened on April 22, 2021 and the Cabinet approval was sought May 18th. What has been done here is opening the letters of credit before getting the cabinet approval. There has been a deal. It was only after the deal that they were remembered to get the cabinet approval. This cabinet paper has been presented to cover up the fraud.

That is why the deal was made without the approval of the Cabinet. Public tenders were not called for the importation of these vehicles. Bids were not called. Therefore, there is a suspicion that a big fraud is taking place here.”