• The 3rd respondent being the Chairman of the CWE had purchased 750 tonnes of sugar from Pyramid Wilmar for Rs 92 per kilo and another consignment of 600 tonnes of sugar for Rs. 110 per kilo

By T. Farook Thajudeen   

 The Supreme Court fixed the case filed against Pyramid Wilmar (Pvt) Limited over a fraud committed for Rs. 13.9 million while importing sugar, for May 6, 2023. 

 At the onset of the hearing before the Supreme Court Judges L.T.B. Dehideniya and Shiran Gunaratne, the respondents Counsel moved court to grant a further date to inquire the case as the Senior Counsel appearing for the respondent was not present for the case due to personal reasons.

 Therefore the two judges fixed further inquiry for May 6. COPE Chairman Sunil Handunnetti had filed this petition in Supreme Court against then Minister of Finance Mahinda Rajapaksa and eight others including Pyramid Wilmar (Pvt) Ltd over alleged corrupt trading practices carried out by the company in connivance with the first respondent Mahinda Rajapaksa, second respondent S.R. Attygalle, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and third respondent Nushad Perera who is now the Chairman of Sri Lanka Standard Institution.

 The petitioner states that the first respondent acting under Section 2 of the Special Commodity Levy Act No 48 of 2007 had made certain orders in respect of several commodities and it was gazetted on 21st May 2020, which order was valid for six months until 20th November 2020. Mr. Handunnetti also asserts that in terms of the Act all the levies collected under the Act shall be remitted to the Consolidated Fund and the first respondent had imposed a levy of Rs 50 per kg of sugar which had reduced to cents 25 per kg.
 The petitioner states that at the time the order was made, there had been 10,147.45 metric tons of sugar in the stores that was imported by the private sector. Meanwhile the Consumer Affairs Authority had fixed the maximum price for a kg of sugar for Rs. 80.

 The 3rd respondent being the Chairman of the CWE had purchased 750 tonnes of sugar from Pyramid Wilmar for Rs 92 per kilo and another consignment of 600 tonnes of sugar for Rs. 110 per kilo.

 The petitioner claimed that the 1st to 5th respondents and the owner of Shangri-La Hotel at Galle Face who are very close to the Prime Minister and the President and had helped their political propaganda events of the “Viyath Maga” had fraudulently acted in collusion, made an illegal benefit to the 5th respondent company as an award to the 5th respondent Sajan Mawzoon, the Director of Pyramid Wilmar (Pvt) Ltd and had moved court to inquire the fraud committed to the tune of Rs 13,9 million.