MRs Aide Faces Money Laundering Charges

By Nirmala Kannangara

Hyatt Regency Hotel

Tuesday,

July 07, 2015

CID files B report against Gamini Senarath at the Colombo Chief Magistrates Court
The Chief of Staff of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is to face legal action shortly
for alleged money laundering, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) said.
Highly reliable sources at the CID who wished to remain anonymous told The Sunday
Leader that the CID has filed a B report in the Colombo Chief Magistrate Court
against former presidents Chief of Staff, Gamini Senarath.
The Sunday Leader is in possession of the B report filed by the CID in courts under the
Money Laundering Act No: 5 of 2006.
Meanwhile, speculation is rife that the former Chief of Staff has accumulated a vast
amount of wealth within a short period of time!
Gamini Sedara Senarath is a Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS) officer and has
served as an Administrative Officer in many government departments prior to his
appointment as Chairman in several government institutions including many state
financial institutions during the Rajapaksa regime.
He was appointed former Presidents Chief of Staff in 2009 and also worked as an
additional Secretary to Rajapaksa before being appointed his Chief of Staff.
In the backdrop of his political affiliations with the
former President, allegations have been levelled
against Senarath of accumulating a vast sum of
wealth during the Rajapaksa regime and a B
Report has now been filed (number
B/25389/1/15/L/B) in the Colombo Chief
Magistrates Court against Senarath by the CID.
Being a public servant who has not inherited a
considerable wealth, Senarath is now alleged to
have wealth amounting to over Rs.700 million
movable and immovable properties owned by him
and in his wifes name Tennakoon Mudiyanselage
Kumari Neetha Gunaratne and in his sons name.
A legal luminary on conditions of anonymity
told The Sunday Leaderthat Senarath has been
accused of money laundering under Section 3 of the
Money Laundering Act No: 5 of 2006. According
to the CID investigations, the huge amount of
money that the Senarath family owns has now been
revealed which is in their bank accounts and the
Copy of the B Report
value of the immovable properties belongs to them
has also been revealed, sources added.

Meanwhile, National Organizer of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), Nishantha Sri
Warnasinghe who lodged the complaint on March 26, 2015 to the CID against
Senarath the most trusted Chief of Staff of the former president has also lodged a
complaint against Senarath with the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) seeking an
investigation into alleged frauds committed by him.
He has also urged the IRD to probe whether Gamini Senerath was paying income tax.
The reliable information I have received and the details that I have collected over time
show very clearly that Senarath who was not born rich, has accrued a large amount of
money and properties amounting to the tune of over seven hundred millions of rupees
during a short period of time. I wanted the CID to investigate how Senarath, being a
public servant, was able to buy properties in well residential areas in Colombo, its
suburbs and in outstations from his monthly salary, Warnasinghe said.
He further noted that when he lodged a complaint with the Inland Revenue
Department, he wanted its Commissioner General Wasanthi Manchanayake to find out
whether Senarath in fact was paying income tax or whether he has not declared his
wealth and has defrauded the state whilst being the Chief of Staff of the former
Executive President. Whilst thanking the Commissioner General of the Inland
Revenue Department for her quick action on his complaint, Warnasinghe said he was
informed that Senarath had not declared his assets to the IRD and has not maintained
a tax file. This means that the former Chief of Staff has not paid income tax and has
deceived the Inland Revenue Department.
This is yet another crime that Senarath has committed apart from money laundering.
We then requested the IRD to look into how Senarath had earned money, whether it is
by legal means adhering to Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Inland Revenue Act No. 10 of
2006, Warnasinghe claimed.
According to him, if the IRD finds out how Senarath has acquired the wealth it is their
duty to impose taxes on him and fines for his failure to declare his assets to the state.
Had he accumulated this wealth through legal means, he would have certainly
declared the assets to the IRD and paid the relevant income taxes. But his failure to do
so is evident that he could not declare how he accumulated the wealth with his
monthly income, Warnasinghe alleged.
Meanwhile, Warnasinghe also accused Senarath of making money in large amounts
from various groups and places including casino owners, Chinese nationals, the
Temple Trees and from his involvement in a number of land and property scams. The
law enforcing authorities should now start investigations into how the high-ranking
officials apart from the politicians made millions of rupees which belong to the tax
payers. The government also should strengthen the relevant authorities by not
interfering with actions they take against all culprits irrespective of their status or
political affiliations. It should accelerate the action, the JHU member added.
In his complaint, Wanasinghe has alleged that Senarath is having many properties in
the highly residential areas in and out of Colombo.
Now it is up to the CID and the Financial Crime Investigation Bureau (FCIB) to start
investigating the details I have submitted. Between the period of September 25, 2013
and December 19, 2014 the money that has been earned in illegal means by Senarath
has been transported in eleven vehicles according to the highly reliable information I

have received. These vehicles are WP MI4680, 301-9651, WP KL1824, WP KP 5610,

WP KH 3937, WP KU 4766, WP KM 1424, WP KY 1243, WP KU 5270, WP KN 9999
and WP KM 0522, he said.
Warnasinghe further queried as to how Senarath was able to own nine properties
which the CID has found out to be worth Rs. 352 million.
According to the CID findings, the nine properties are worth Rs. 352 million. The CID
has calculated this amount based on the values that the deed states. Generally, no one
puts the exact value of the property in the deed as the buyer has to pay stamp duties to
the value.
If the calculation has been done according to the values that the deeds mention, the
exact value could be even more than that of the deeds, the legal luminary told The
Sunday Leader.
According to the sources, although the value of the properties is given as Rs. 352
million, the present value of these properties also has to be taken into consideration.
Senarath may have purchased bare lands and later on developed them. So let the law
enforcement authorities check the present value of the properties without confining to
the value mentioned at the time of the properties were purchased, he added.
According to Warnasinghe, Senaraths family also owns four companies Print Excel
(Pvt) Limited, Rathna Publishers and Printers, Rathna Publishers (Pvt) Limited and
Rathna Metal Industries (Pvt) Limited.
Meanwhile, reliable sources at the CID on conditions of anonymity said the
investigations team was able to find out details of the companies and said Print Excel
(Pvt) Ltd has been registered with the Company Registrar under PV 65356, Rathna
Publishers and Printers PV1899, Rathna Publishers (Pvt) Ltd- PV76309 and Rathna
Metal Industries (Pvt) Ltd PVS 50272.
According to the investigation findings, two of the companies are managed by
Tennakoon Mudiyanselage Kumari Neetha Gunaratna Gamini Senaraths wife and
another by his mother-in-law Malkanthi Gunaratne alias Kanthi Ranasinghe while
another is operated by his wife, mother-in-law and the son. We have also found some
of their bank accounts and the accounts of Senarath, his wife and son have Rs. 33.9
million, sources confirmed.
They further said that when permission was sought by the CID from the Colombo
Chief Magistrate to investigate the bank accounts, and details of the properties owned
by the Senarath family by the CID, permissions were granted and now further
investigations are in progress.
The CID filed a B Report in the Colombo Chief Magistrates Court against Senarath
under the Money Laundering Act No. 5 of 2006 and sought court permission to
investigate bank accounts of the family members. On March 16 and 27, the Financial
Crimes Investigations Division (FCID) questioned Senarath about the massive
amounts of money misused at the Peoples Leasing and Finance PLC that had taken
place during Seneraths tenure as the Chairman of the Peoples Bank and Peoples
Leasing and Finance PLC during the previous regime.
On the request of the CID, Colombo Chief Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya has granted
permission to the CID on April 20 to investigate 81 bank accounts belong to Senerath
and eight other relatives including his wife, mother-in-law and son. The Chief

Magistrate also permitted the CID to investigate the bank accounts of Rathna Book
Publishers (Pvt) Ltd., Rathna Publishers & Printers (Pvt) Ltd., Print Excel (Pvt) Ltd.
and Rathna Metal Industries (Pvt) Ltd., which also belong to the Senarath family, CID
sources said.
The CID is now checking all financial institutions in the country to find out the bank
accounts of Senarath, his wife, son, mother-in-law and other relatives. We have now
received the national identity card numbers of nine including Gamini Senaraths which
helps us track the accounts easily.
Gamini Senarath bears the NIC No 563552000V, his wife Tennakoon Mudiyanselage
Kumari Neetha Gunaratne alias Kumari Neetha Senarath NIC 607593205V, Malkanthi
Gunaratne alias Kanthi Ranasinghe NIC 377863887V, Shanil Surinda Sedara Senarath
NIC 723273919V, Mahesh Mevul Sedara Senarath NIC920221084V, Damminda
Sedara Senarath NIC512862780V, Sumana Sedara Senarath NIC590271608V, Sanjaya
Sedara Senarath NIC 682190370V and Aruni Manjula Sedara Senarath NIC
686680860V. In addition we will be investigating whether they have obtained loans
from banks and financial institutions in the country and planning to produce all the
details to the court at the very earliest, sources added.
It has further been revealed that Senarath owns nine properties at No:47/2, Gregory
Road, Colombo 7; No:66, Badulla Road, Nuwara Eliya; No: 164/4, G.C. Perera
Mawatha, Pore, Athurugiriya; No:962, Pannipitiya Road, Battaramulla; No:30,
Subadrarama Road, Nugegoda; No:462, Liyanwala, Padukka; No:125/4, Pannipitiya
Road, Battaramulla;No: 426, Athurugiriya Road, Hokandara North, Arangala and
Bandagiri Village Holiday Resort. Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Policy Planning and
Economic Development Dr Harsha de Silva has lodged a complaint with the
Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption about the irregularities
committed in the 43 storey five-star luxury hotel complex the Hyatt Regency Hotel
Project in Colombo which was also chaired by Senarath.
Meanwhile, Bank of Ceylon and Peoples Bank have come under severe criticism for
granting massive loans to politicians and their stooges without surety and channeling
funds for political activities during the Rajapaksa regime. Peoples Bank, which was
once Chaired by Senarath, have now come under close scrutiny. All attempts to contact
Gamini Senarath on his residential land line for a comment failed. Police Spokesman
ASP Ruwan Gunasekara confirmed that the CID is continuing further investigations
and added that the CID is to consult the Attorney General for his opinion before going
to take legal action against Senarath.
The CID is not willing to divulge the investigation details as it has become a yeoman
task for them to obtain details on all bank accounts of the Senarath family. But it is
confirmed that the investigation process is carrying out without any hindrance, SP
Gunasekara said.
Posted by Thavam