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Colombo Chief Magistrate Thilina Gamage yesterday (31st) ordered the Intelligence Investigation Unit of the Colombo Commission on Bribery or Corruption to immediately arrest all Motor Vehicles (RMV) officials and others suspected of illegally importing vehicles, a move that has caused the government to lose more than Rs10 billion in tax revenue.
The court ordered the arrest of all officials who illegally entered data into the RMV information system, officials who registered these vehicles and persons who illegally imported these vehicles.
The court also ordered the commission’s department to seize six jeeps worth Rs 100 million that were imported into Sri Lanka, causing the Sri Lankan government to lose more than Rs 300 million in tax revenue.
The Colombo Chief Magistrate ordered that the items be handed over to the Comptroller General of Customs.
When the case came to trial at the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court, the Anti-Bribery Commission, appearing on behalf of the plaintiff, said it had found that several senior officials in the Motor Traffic Department were also involved in issuing illegal number plates.
The Chief Magistrate issued the order under Section 120 of the Criminal Procedure Code in relation to three Mitsubishi jeeps and three Toyota jeeps which had not been cleared by Sri Lanka Customs.
The Magistrate made the order after considering a request by the Bribery Board, which sought an order that the vehicles in question, currently in the custody of civilians, be handed over to Sri Lanka Customs for investigation under Sections 136 and 137 of the Customs Regulations.
The commission’s investigation team reported the incident to the court, pointing out that the government suffered losses when importing these luxury vehicles due to the failure of Sri Lankan Customs to follow proper customs clearance procedures.
The Bribery Commission informed the court that the six vehicles are currently owned by several residents of Galle, Avisawela, Kuruwita, Trincomalee and Kaduwela.
The Commission also informed the court that one of the vehicles was brought into Sri Lanka under the guise of importing other goods without proper clearance from Sri Lanka Customs by entering false information into the computer data system of the Motor Traffic Department.
So far, the investigation has established that about 200 luxury cars were imported into Sri Lanka without proper clearance from Sri Lanka Customs by submitting false information into the computer data system of the Motor Transport Department and the department has submitted the facts to the court on December 8, 2023.
The Bribery Commission indicted seven persons, including five officials of the Motor Transport Department, in the Colombo High Court for embezzling government revenue by deleting the data of a three-wheeler and replacing it with a “Mini Cooper” model car on December 22.
(dailynews.lk)
(Except for the headline, this article was originally published by dailynews.lk and has not been edited by SLM staff)
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