An enjoining order issued a few weeks ago by the District Court in Colombo to block the annual payment of US$6 million to Japanese contractors on the Hilton Hotel case was upheld on Friday by the District Court Judge Sampath Wijerathna.
The petition seeking an enjoining order was filed by former director of Hotel Developers Ltd, Cornel Perera and came up again as the Japanese firms had sought to vacate the order. However the Judge upheld the enjoining order and scheduled the case for August 21. Sources close to the case told the Sunday Times FT that Mr. Perera filed for the enjoining order to prevent the payment to the Japanese party, before the due payment date of June 30, 2009.
The Sunday Times previously reported in 1996 that chartered accountant and former employee of Cornel & Co. Ltd (Mr. Perera’s company), Nihal Sri Ameresekere attracted tremendous public attention when he filed action in September 1990 in the District Court of Colombo alleging a fraud perpetrated by the Japanese consortium in the construction of the Hilton Hotel and restrained them from receiving any payments on the contracts.
He sought a declaration that the Japanese consortium is not entitled to any payments for the construction of the hotel and that HDL is entitled to a reimbursement of the monies already paid and received by the contractors.
In 1999, the Sunday Times reported that the Court of Appeal lifted the restriction on remitting money to Japan by Mitsui & Co. Ltd and Taisei & Co. Ltd, the two Japanese companies involved in the construction of the Hilton Hotel. |
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