"Racketeers, be it in the stock market or pushing pyramid schemes, thrive on suckers. They fool innocent people and swindle them. We have seen so many instances where people have even been pushed to suicide. But if and when they attempt to perpetrate such crime on the people at large it becomes a matter of public interest and as the main opposition it is our responsibility to ensure that does not happen," the opposition lawmaker said.
"Earlier this year, we came to know that a Rolls Royce Ghost car was imported at a cost of USD 175,000. In public interest we researched and found out that the actual value of such a vehicle was approximately USD 300,000 and that the government may have lost up to Rs 50 million in taxes. We exposed this transaction in the media and asked the Ministry of Finance to look in to this matter. But nothing came out of it except attempted intimidation by the importer, which we brought to the attention of the Speaker during sessions in Parliament last week.
"Now we are told by the media that a fleet of Rolls Royce Ghost cars, costing up to USD 290,000, are to be imported for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November this year. We are unaware if the importer is the same or not, but how the cost increased by more than 65 percent in just a few months is a relevant question in public interest. Was the original transaction part of an under-invoicing racket or is the pending transactions an over-invoicing racket?" he asked.
"The racketeers better be aware that if they think they will be able to swindle the tax paying citizen and get away with the loot, they better think again. We will not let them do so this time around," Dr. de Silva warned.
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