Will the next fuel shipment arrive via a company owned by a Rajapaksa?

Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekare and Namal Rajapaksa at a recent press conference

• The Government allowed for a fuel crisis in the country and increased the fuel price
• A visit was made to Qatar, but there is no confirmation as yet regarding the supplying of fuel
• This company named ALBG has a person named Namal Rajapaksa as its Financial Director
• When checking the ALBG website the Daily Mirror found several photos of MP Namal Rajapaksa and several other MPs that seem to have been taken in Qatar

As of now Sri Lanka has run out of fuel. According to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) sources fuel reserves have completely dried up. Reportedly the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Ltd (CPSTL) has disregarded the CPC priority list compiled to distribute fuel. According to a top level official the haphazard fuel distribution by the CPSTL saw existing stocks finishing up two days earlier than scheduled. In such a backdrop the Government has decided to provide fuel supplies only to services deemed essential. “The government has also decided to increase the fuel price despite not having fuel reserves in its possession,” the official added.

Now there is no fuel even for essential services. We see in the media how other parties are supplied with fuel under the guise of essential services. Individuals who are actually engaged in essential services are seen in queues. At present people are so desperate that they request authorities for fuel supplies- imported from anywhere- even at a higher price. “This whole situation is a planned one,” Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP Champika Ranawaka said. The Government did not have any plan to obtain fuel before the country ran out of fuel reserves. “They tried to import fuel through 14 suppliers other than the ones who are registered with us to supply fuel.

Rajapaksa family members are misusing this crisis. The vessel that recently imported crude oil to Sri Lanka belongs to the company which helped Rohitha Rajapaksa launch his rocket. The price rates of the fuel- brought by the vessel- were peculiar. Some are using the crisis to do business. If we obtain fuel from a registered company there is accountability for the stock. Now fuel is not imported through a tender process. We make payments once a vessel arrives. A barrel of fuel brought in that vessel costs six US dollars more than the market price. We received details with regards to these dealings,” he said. 

The Government allowed for a fuel crisis in the country and increased the fuel price. In addition Cabinet approval was given to hand over Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) fuel stations to the private sector. The CPC has around 1200 registered fuel stations out of which 300 are directly under its purview. According to a CPC top official the Cabinet has given approval to hand over 50 CPC fuel stations to the IOC and the rest to other foreign companies on the basis of supplying fuel. “Private fuel stations registered with the CPC are allowed to distribute fuel with any employer of their choice and even change the registration,” he said. 

ALBG website shows Namal Rajapaksa picture with a Qatar official

“A fuel vessel arrived recently and the CPC made a payment of 42.5 million US$,” Samagi United Trade Union Force (SUTUF) convener Ananda Palitha said. Now the whereabouts of the vessel are unknown. There is no trace of the fuel stock or the payment made. The Minister of Power and Energy repeatedly spoke about this vessel. Another vessel containing crude oil arrived prior to this vessel. “Both these vessels came from Dubai and Qatar and it was revealed that the Rajapaksas are connected. They tried to show that the country had run out of fuel, so that they could import fuel from anywhere for higher prices. MP Namal Rajapaksa attended a recent media briefing headed by Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekara. This was followed by talks on importing oil from Qatar and Russia. They travelled to these countries in a hurry. They could have made plans earlier to import fuel from either Qatar or Russia instead of waiting for the country to run out of fuel. Now they are waiting for the Central Bank to collect sufficient dollars to pay for the next fuel shipment. Earlier the goverment obtained fuel on credit promising payment within six months or one year. Those deals were based on promissory notes. A visit was made to Qatar, but there is no confirmation as yet regarding the supplying of fuel. Qatar communicated that it would consider supplying fuel. According to social Media reports it is alleged that fuel will be imported from Qatar through a company belonging to former minister Namal Rajapaksa. There is speculation that Minister Kanchana Wijesekara and several Sri Lankan representatives made a visit to Qatar to import oil through a company owned by Namal Rajapaksa,” Ananda Palitha added.

News about these talks has spread rapidly not only in social media, but all around the country. This newspaper has been looking for information about this company since April 18, 2022 even before these talks began to circulate. According to the information received, this company named ALBG has a person named Namal Rajapaksa as its Financial Director. Inquiries were made by this newspaper from this company-via email- to unearth whether it is lawmaker Namal Rajapaksa who is functioning as one of the directors of this company and functioning using the same name. The company hadn’t responded to our inquiries regarding this board director at the time this edition went to press. 

Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekare and members of the Sri Lankan delegation pose for a photo with Qatar officials

The Daily Mirror then dispatched another email on June 29, 2022 as information regarding the importing of oil escalated again. The company had not responded to that email either. 
When checking the ALBG website the Daily Mirror found photos of MP Namal Rajapaksa and several other MPs that seem to have been taken in Qatar. These photos were published in the website of the said company. Officials of the company, officials of the Qatar Government and the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Qatar were seen in those photos. This newspaper downloaded these photos on April 18. These photos are no longer visible on the website. 
SLPP MP Wasantha Yapa Bandara also appeared in these photos. When this newspaper made inquires from Bandara regarding this visit to Qatar he made the following responses. 

The Daily Mirror inquired from Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva about these claims and in response, a ministry spokesperson said that he (the minister) had never made any request to visit Qatar. “He discussed with the Qatar Ambassador about the issues faced by our labourers in Qatar in the face of Covid-19 and visa issues faced by those who were expecting to go there and obtained solutions. Visits to Qatar in the capacity of diplomats should be arranged as official visits through the embassy. Otherwise you cannot meet leaders of Qatar. They may have gone for some other activity pretending to have discussions regarding labour issues. No one has been to Qatar in the capacity of diplomats in four years,” he added.

This newspaper attempted to contact MP Namal Rajapaksa to find out whether he was the financial director of ALBG. When this writer tried to contact the MP by dialing the phone at his residence in Tangalle a security officer responded to the call and informed us to contact Lahiru Kodituwakku, a secretary of Namal Rajapaksa. When this newspaper contacted this secretary this writer was informed to make the inquiry in the form of a text message. However this writer hasn’t been able to contact MP Namal Rajapaksa as yet. Though Namal Rajapaksa couldn’t be reached for a comment he had stated in a post in his Twitter account that he had no connections with the above mentioned company. He had also added that someone having the same name as him could be serving this company and that it is not him.  

A picture on the ALBG website shows Namal Rajapaksa with a Qatar official

The media reported the discussions Minister Kanchana Wijesekara had with state officials of Qatar to solve the fuel, gas and power crisis. Reportedly the Qatar Government has only said that they would consider the points raised at the discussion, but are yet to give a permanent solution to these issues. It was also learned that the group of Sri Lankan diplomats had stayed in a place belonging to an influential person in Sri Lanka. Finding a proper solution to the fuel crisis at a diplomatic level would be ideal. If Minister Wijesekara is also trying to let a family gain profits in these vital deals, people of the country will never forgive him.
Attempts made to contact the CPC Chairman Sumith Wijesinghe proved futile.

The CPC is yet to reveal the company in Qatar which it will import fuel from. It is officially unknown if fuel will be imported through the company named ALBG. Maybe the website the Daily Mirror sees as belonging to this company is fake. Maybe people will be forced into believing that fuel will be imported from this company and they might import fuel from another company which could be located in Dubai or Seychelles or it could be another company in Qatar. The Daily Mirror is watching closely to see if those who faced these allegations are the ones behind importing fuel.

“We went to have a discussion with an official in Qatar who is influencial like the labour minister. We spoke about the issues connected with Sri Lankans obtaining visas to go to Qatar. The Sri Lankan Ambassador joined in the discussion,”
- SLPP MP Wasantha Yapa Bandara

 “Both these vessels came from Dubai and Qatar and it was revealed that the Rajapaksas are connected. They tried to show that the country had run out of fuel, so that they could import fuel from anywhere for higher prices”
- Samagi United Trade Union Force (SUTUF) convener Ananda Palitha

Another picture published in the  ALBG website shows Namal Rajapaksa and a set of MPs who visited Qatar

Excerpts of the interview with SLPP MP Bandara 

Q  Did you visit Qatar?

Yes, we went to Qatar on December 18, 2021.

Q  Is fuel imported to Sri Lanka through this (ALBG ) company?

I don’t know. We went to have a discussion with an official in Qatar who is influencial like the labour minister. We spoke about the issues connected with Sri Lankans obtaining visas to go to Qatar. The Sri Lankan Ambassador joined in the discussion. We also discussed whether disabled players in Sri Lanka could be admitted to a sports hospital there. We also had the opportunity to watch one or two matches of FIFA finals. 

Q  What is the connection between the ALBG and this visit? Is former MP Namal Rajapaksa a director of this company?

I am not so sure about that. I cannot say anything officially in this regard.

Q  Is it okay for the sports minister to visit Qatar to talk about labour issues when the labour minister remains in the country?

I was invited and made aware of the problems they were planning to discuss about. Therefore I took part in the visit. Namal Rajapaksa did not meet with this Qatar Government official, but met with the high level diplomats. It was revealed in those discussions that Labour Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva had requested the Qatar Government to have a discussion regarding these issues. But the Qatar Government had not given him an opportunity to have that discussion. Using Mahinda Rajapaksa’s connections Namal Rajapaksa had requested to have a discussion about labour issues and the Qatar Government had agreed.

Q  Did you know that Namal Rakapaksa was the financial director of that company?

I do not know about that company. I cannot mention the name of a company I am unaware of.

Q  Why did new MPs join this visit?

FIFA sponsored us with tickets for our visit to Qatar. Mr. Jasthar is the Sri Lankan FIFA Chairman. He also took part in the visit. W. D. Weerasinghe and Milan Jayathilaka also joined in the visit. Namal Rajapaksa joined us there. We asked him to intervene regarding the labour issue in Qatar. That is why we went to Qatar using the FIFA sponsorship.