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The opposition shouted fouls, saying that the investigation was equivalent to a cover for the Rajapaksa family, who had been in power in the island country for decades.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (Gotabaya Rajapaksa) has ordered an investigation of his niece’s overseas wealth after she and her husband were accused in Pandora documents of hiding millions of dollars abroad.
The opposition immediately yelled, saying that the investigation would be equivalent to a cover-up by the powerful Rajapaksa family in the island nation for decades.
Cabinet spokesman Dullas Alahapperuma said on Wednesday that the president asked the major anti-corruption agency to publish a report on the assets of Nirupama Rajapaksa and her husband Thirukumar Nadesan “within one month.”
Nirupama Rajapaksa, 59, served as a legislator in the previous government of another uncle, Mahinda Rajapaksa from 2004 to 2015, and served as A junior minister for five years.
Nirupama Rajapaksa (left) accompanied Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra (right) to meet members of the Thai business community in Sri Lanka in this 2013 photo [File: MA Pushpa Kumara/EPA]The couple’s name is one of dozens of famous people in the world whose names appear in approximately 11.9 million leaked documents from the financial services company that manages their wealth.
The Pandora document was obtained by the International League of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and published in the story by media partners such as The Washington Post, BBC, and The Guardian.
The allegations range from corruption to money laundering and tax evasion.
ICIJ stated that based on its analysis of Nadesan Trust’s financial statements, Nirupama Rajapaksa and Nadesan had offshore assets worth approximately US$18 million in 2017.
ICIJ stated that in an email sent to Singapore-based financial services provider Asiaciti Trust, Nadesan’s long-term consultant believed that his total wealth in 2011 exceeded US$160 million.
ICIJ said the couple declined to comment.
It is not illegal to hold assets or use a shell company outside of Sri Lanka, but it must be declared to the local tax authority.
The government passed legislation last month to pardon tax evaders, hoping that this will bring back the wealth hidden abroad when the island faces a serious shortage of foreign exchange.
Anura Dissanayake, a left-wing opposition lawmaker, said they have little confidence in the recent investigation, which he said was designed to divert public anger.
“Investigation is a mechanism to suppress the truth and protect criminals,” Disanayake told AFP.
Nadesan and another Rajapaksa sibling, Basil Rajapaksa, were sued in a local money laundering case in 2016, the current Minister of Finance. The case is under trial.
From LuxLeaks in 2014 to the Panama Papers in 2016, the Pandora Document is the latest in a series of large-scale leaks handled by ICIJ.
It is followed by Paradise Papers in 2017 and FinCen in 2020.
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