Former Ports Authority Chairman Dr. Priyath Bandu Wickrema is to be questioned by the Police Financial Crimes Investigation Division over a massive alleged tax scam involving the CSN channel. 

 

CSN reportedly bought television equipment worth £ 14,0000 from Arena Television in Reddhill, Surrey. The value of the state-of-the art television equipment is approximately Rs 30 million.

However, when paying Customs duty, the equipment had been valued at £ 3,200 (Rs. 665,600), a multi-million rupee tax fraud.

Highly placed Financial Crimes Investigation Department (FCID) sources said the government had lost a staggering tax revenue as a result of the tax scam due to undervaluing the equipment bought from the UK.

The original invoice for the transaction with Arena Television had been made on May 28, 2012, months after the channel was set up.

The FCID had received complaints that Bandu Wickrema allegedly had acted as the ‘go-between’ of CSN, to facilitate clearance. A highly placed FCID source said this had been done following a request by Yoshitha Rajapaksa who acted as the main decision-maker of the company. 

Meanwhile, the FCID sources also added that they would soon record another statement from Yasraa Abeynaike, former head of the CSN channel and the ex-girlfriend of Yoshitha Rajaopaksa.