COLOMBO, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan police have informed Parliament's Committee on Public Finance that about 715 million U.S. dollars may have been earned through criminal activities and remitted using false import documents, local media outlet Daily Mirror reported Wednesday.
Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Asanga Karawita, who is leading the investigation, briefed the committee on the progress of the inquiry.
The investigation followed a recent statement by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake that nearly 1 billion U.S. dollars had been transferred out of Sri Lanka since 2023 as advance payments for imports. The funds were sent through telegraphic transfers, but corresponding goods were not brought into the country.
The president told the parliament that investigators were examining whether money generated through drug trafficking, corruption and organized crime had been moved overseas through the transactions. He also alleged that certain bank branches and managers had facilitated them.
Following the allegations, the committee questioned officials from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Customs, the Finance Ministry and the police. ■