Seeking bribe of Rs. 125 mn. -- three Customs bigwigs caught -- Updates 2

Several top-ranking officers of the Customs Department already have been cordoned by the police as a result of the biggest raid of 125 million conducted by the Bribery Commission recently. For the sake of safety the identity of the businessman who gave the bribe on the guidance of the Commission
who took the major hand in giving instructions has not been exposed further to the media. The Sunday Island newspaper has carried out an exclusive interview with him and has explained how he contributed towards the raid. 

He had mentioned how the officers had made him something of a scapegoat in a false manner and after notifying the Bribery Commission this strategy had been launched into action. Two officers of the Bribery Commission had for some time been working as employees in his Company and thus spent their time and had in the process conducted this raid in the most strategical manner while those seeking the bribe were unaware until the eleventh hour that they were to be cordoned, he had revealed. That description is as follows:

"It was just not in recent times that I began doing the business. I am doing business from the year 1972. That also is a business which I inherited from generations. That business connected to the bribe is not something belonging to me. It's a business which is being carried on by the Sri Lanka Transport Board and Steel Impex and Industries, an Indian Company which is being done in collaboration. That business began on July 22nd in the year 2011. It was the Indian mother Company that has totally invested on the Company. Though the Sri Lanka Transport Board joined, not a rupee has been invested to start the Company. I am only a middle-man in the Company. To make it more clear, it was I who did the brokering in bringing together the Indian Company and the Sri Lanka Transport Board. For that, the Indian mother Company pays me a small commission. 

The Indian mother Company exports items here. Those items come under the name of the Sri Lanka Transport Board. Items which are brought in that manner are tax free. In the same way, whenever such items are brought, to release them from the Customs the Sri Lanka Transport Board seeks the sanction of the Ministry of Finance and Planning. The Ministry of Finance and Planning in turn notifies the Customs in writing to release the stock of items free of tax, after of course considering about it. It is after that that the Customs take steps to release the stock of items. It is a team of officers of the Sri Lanka Transport Board who accept that stock of items from the Customs officers. It is also they who transport the stock of items to the Steel Impex Company in Ekala. 

However though according to what these bribe-seekers alleged, there has been no such default of taxes. If such a thing had taken place according to what they say, it is the Sri Lanka Transport Board who should be fined and not us. The Customs are aware that no mistake has occured here and they never make a statement that taxes have been evaded. The story they keep on saying is, 'talks about tax facilities can't be accepted. Investigations should be carried out on that'. On February 11th in the year 2015, 6 Customs officers came to the Ekala establishment and removed some books saying it's for an enquiry. That's no problem. If there's any problem, an investigation should be carried out on it. What I also said was to conduct an enquiry quickly and to finish it off. I also got ready with the necessary documents ready for the investigation. But I was not called for an enquiry of any sort as such, for 8 months. Statements were taken from me on about ten occasions saying that I was involved in a tax fraud from the day the Company was started. Some Customs officers had gone to the Sri Lanka Transport Board and had threatened the officers there. Ultimately they began interfering in my private business too and started doing various things. This became a terrible nuisance. 

What they tried to do was frighten me and fleece me for my money. They started weaving stories of all sorts. They said that I had not paid VAT charges. Actually the Customs has no right to talk about VAT taxes. One day a director of Customs spoke to me and said, 'let's settle this on the surface ... let's finish off the matter with five hundred'. Then I said that figure is too high. After that the very same director spoke and said, 'pay off hundred and fifty and finish off'. What I thought was 150 lakhs. I got calls about twice or thrice a day worrying me for the money. In the end this became a terrible nuisance. I went to India and it came to the stage where I spoke to the Indian Company and came to an agreement to give something and finish off. The Indian Company also agreed to give away even 25 lakhs and thus call it a day. Having come back to Sri Lanka I met the Customs director and told him to accept 25 and close the deal. Then he refused. Later I told him to take 50 lakhs in that case and let's finish it off. 'ei .... are you off your head .... what we asked was not 50 lakhs ... 1,500 lakhs ', so saying he laughed. How can such a big amount be paid? I was dumbfounded. 'Why are you frightened? This is only a small case no. We have handled bigger cases than this. This is not only for me.... this is divided among five or six others'. Saying so the Customs director broke into a laugh again. 

They had at the outset itself asked for 5000 lakhs. It was only after that they had brought it down to 1500. 1500 lakhs means ten percent (10%) of the total items brought into this country from the day Steel Impex establishment started. The value of these items brought from the year 2011 is 23 crores. It was 10% of that they had been asking. Later what I thought was that there's no point in talking with these people and to go in for another alternative. 

I discussed this problem with the topmost lawyers in the country and old hands of the Customs. What all of them said was that there was no fraud that had taken place here and that the Customs cannot conduct an investigation on this. After that I personally met the lady director of the Bribery Commission and explained the whole story. She said, 'let's cordon these people somehow or other'. From there onwards we launched our operations. It was I who prepared the necessary background on the instructions of madam. First of all I spoke to the Customs director and told him, 'can't give 1500 of course. Will give 1250 ... let's finish the job'. But the Customs director didn't accede to that amount of money. 'We don't have so much money. Even this money we managed to get after speaking to the Indian Company .... with great difficulty'. So saying I managed to get him round for that figure. If I agreed to give the 15 crores, I may be suspected. If something like this is done, there won't be even a small suspicion. Later the Customs director suggested that we do the transaction in Singapore. I said that I can't travel such a distance. After that he suggested carrying out the transaction at a car park of a luxury hotel in Colombo. I waited as if I agreed to it. Later I even booked two rooms in that hotel. 

In the meantime I inserted an advertisement in a newspaper calling for two employees in the office and two officers of the Bribery Commission came to work in my office. They were constantly with me. During this time some Customs officers involved in this transaction visited me at my office several times and discussed how the deal should be carried out. On each such occasion the two Bribery Commission officers kept moving around my office. One day the Customs director who asked me for the money spoke to me and said that there is a lawyer of theirs in Borella and to do the transaction there. 

Two weeks had elapsed by then in having informed the Bribery. Half of the operations had successfully been carried out. We somehow other managed to arrange Rs. twelve and a half crores. Later I spoke to the Customs director and told him, 'this is a large sum of money .... can't take from place to place .... let's finish the deal in our office itself'. They also consented to that proposition and to do likewise. It was on the last 12th that we were to carry out the deal. But because of a problem of their own the date was postponed to the 15th. The Customs officers too had a big fear in them. 

At about 4 in the evening on the 15th, 3 Customs officers arrived at my office. Those three Customs officers who came had on several previous occasions come to my office to talk about how the deal was to be carried out. On that day when they came I showed them the money. As soon as they saw the cash, a drastic change overcame them. The Borella lawyer's place, the car park of the luxury hotel .... everything became a matter of a forgotten past. The two Bribery Commission officers whom I took into employment were within sight of me outside my office. The two Customs officers too who frequented this place for 2 weeks were quite familiar with them by sight. As already planned a person from the Indian Company also was brought there and was introduced to the Customs officers and the person from India was then sent away from that spot. 

'Malli .... count that money and give these gentlemen' I said and then started just talking rubbish with the three of them. It was to an officer of the Bribery Commission that I told to count the money and give. 'No ... no ... we'll count and see', so saying two of the Customs officers began counting the money. By that time about 40 Bribery officers were waiting in ambush round our place. Not even five minutes passed having started to count the money, the Bribery officers got hold of the three Customs officers. There wasn't anything that could be done. The three of them stood like stone pillars. One of them had passed urine and fell down having fainted. There were about 40 Bribery officers filling the place here. I let them do their job and got to a side. 

After a short while one Customs officers came upto me and pleaded saying, 'We made a mistake .... there's no tax fraud that has occured here ... don't get angry with us. Send us out of this place without we being handcuffed'. I granted that request. I didn't allow them to be handcuffed until they were put inside the vehicle. When the operations were launched I made a request from the lady Commissioner of the Bribery Commission not to use cameras near my location and not to bring the press there. After they are taken away from my location ... what happens after that, I don't care. But it was not possible to cordon the two kingpin Customs directors of this transaction. The two of them also were hanging around our location at the time this transaction was taking place. Because of a small shortcoming of two of the Bribery Commission men it was not possible to get at them. One of the henchman of one of the directors was Parakrama Perera who was cordoned by the Bribery officers. He was sent by the boss to take his share in the deal. The other two are Upali Perera and Jagath Wickremasingha. The main director in the incident had come just once to Ekala office to discuss this deal. The other director on another day had come to my office and discussed how the monies should be exchanged. 

It was with a large risk that I put my hand into this matter. As soon as the matter was launched I sent my home-people on a pilgrimage to India. I sent two of the employees working in my office on that journey. It was on behalf of those two that I recruited two officers of the Bribery Commission. My home-people know nothing about this. They have still not arrived in the island. I started this matter with the hope of facing whatever problem came my way. If the matter misfired, I may not have been among the living. One of the Customs officers connected to this transaction in fact has a direct connection with the underworld and I knew about it. So whatever I did, I did in the most clever manner. I didn't even make use of a driver on any journey I made in that connection. It was only I, the lady director of the Bribery Commission and two other officers who really knew about the operations. Exactly 2 weeks passed after the operations began. Even the Bribery officers who were involved in the operations in the last two or three days really didn't know what they were going to do. Even the people working in my shop were not aware of what transpired inside the office. Only two of us knew the manner of how we brought the money to the office. The lady director of the Bribery Commission including officers who were attached to this operations were sweating out a great deal day in and day out. Finally everybody was able to reap the rewards of their efforts".

Note -- Tharanga Ratnaweera and Prabhath Vithana