Bypassing Cabinet, Rajapaksa paid Rs. 1.39b to US firms and middleman
The Presidential Secretariat, under the previous UPFA Government, paid a staggering Rs. 1.39 billion to a middleman and two public relations agencies in the United States to promote Sri Lanka and lobby on behalf of the former Government. Though the Cabinet of Ministers did not approve the payment, the Presidential Secretariat had directed in writing that the amount be approved by the Central Bank’s Monetary Board and remitted directly to those concerned, according to revelations that have surfaced so far into investigations carried out by the Ministry of Finance.
More startling revelations are unfolding as the investigation continues. About US$ 4.5 million (or Rs. 587,120,850) has been paid to Imad Zuberi, the middleman who helped arrange a string of US public relations companies to promote Sri Lanka. Mr. Zuberi, who has touted his close connections to US President Barack Obama having served in the fund raising committee for his election, was introduced to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa by Salim Mandaviwala, a former Pakistani Finance Minister.
Since then, Sajin de Vass Gunawardena, the former Monitoring MP of the External Affairs Ministry, dealt with Mr. Zuberi. With Mr. Zuberi’s help, Mr. Vass Gunawardena signed up another set of US public relations firms. Payments to these firms, too, have been made through the Central Bank without recourse to approval by ministers. A Finance Ministry official said this aspect was also now under investigation.
The two firms for which the former Government’s Presidential Secretariat wanted payments made are: WR Group – US$ 2 million (or Rs. 260,389,200) and Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough LLP — US$ 4.15 million (or Rs. 543,253,100).
(The Sunday Times)
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There has been so many accusations of all kinds of robberies and misconduct by MR and his family. I just can not understand how majority of Sri Lankans actually believe that all of the ministers who jumped from MR’s Party to join the opposition just befeore the Presidential election did not know of all the corruption that went on for so many years. If they were aware of the atrocities and did not report them then they are as responsible to the people of Sri Lanka just as much as the ones who committed theft and unlawful activities. That means all of the ministers who jumped fences including MS either had no guts or they preferred to keep quite because their position and the money that came with it was more important than the people who voted for them.
Fernando, Mate, haven’t you heard the saying ‘Aney kale – Wane waase’.
If anybody wants to know more about this evil crime by MR, just check Wikipaedia by searching for ‘Lobbying in the United States’.
Indira am denying that MR did all the things they say he did but the issue I have is why did all these gutless ministers and MS put up with all the corruption for all these years and then all of a sudden they all such good people.