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VAT scam: CID seeks deportation of ex-tax official’s wife

By Asif Fuard

The CID which is probing the multi-billion rupee VAT scam has asked the New Zealand government to arrest and deport the wife of a former Deputy Commissioner of the Inland Revenue Department.

Detectives said they made the written request after finding evidence that Deputy Commissioner Gnanasiri Zoysa Jayatilake’s wife who lives with her family in New Zealand had deposited Rs. 10.4 million of the VAT refund money in private banks in Sri Lanka.

They said evidence indicated that Ms. Jayatilake had deposited Rs. Rs.8.8 million in the HSBC and Rs. 1.6 million in the Commercial Bank. These accounts have been frozen.

This headline-hitting scam, known to be one of the biggest in South Asia, came to light when the Auditor General discovered a staggering deficit of Rs. 3.57 billion in VAT refunds.

The first to be nabbed was Mr. Jayatilake who had come to Sri Lanka from New Zealand via Singapore. He and six other suspects – most of them millionaire businessmen -- are now under arrest and facing trial.

However, the alleged mastermind, identified as millionaire businessman Kamil Kuthubdeen is still absconding.

Detectives say he may have left Sri Lanka on a forged passport and may be in Dubai. They have asked the United Arab Emirates officials to look out for him.

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