CPC officials 10 % ‘commission’ demand from fuel suppliers comes into scrutiny

Shocking details of how some corrupt top officials of state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation(CPC) siphoned off large sums of dollars in the procurement of oil from its favourite selected suppliers while penalising others who stepped into ease the shortage of fuel in the country have been revealed, Energy Ministry sources confirmed.

The Ministry has also received complaints regarding activities of the CPC and the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminal Ltd regarding fuel procurement, evaluation of proposals, non-placement of orders, selection of suppliers and delays in payments.

Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera has lodged a complaint with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) seeking a probe into these allegations of siphoning off money to selected fuel suppliers and financial misappropriations. .

It has come to light that some top officials of CPC have been siphoning over Rs.25 million worth US Dollars to their favourite companies by adopting a novel system of making ‘Advance Payments of 110 per cent  of the Cargo Value’ for the last six months.

This practice of paying 10 per cent extra money to the suppliers has created a loss of over $60 million – Rs.25, 000 million which none of the suppliers has ever returned.

Two main suppliers, namely Vitol Singapore and BB Energy have been receiving most of these 10 per cent extra advance payments and the practice is still ongoing at the CPC.

A leading lawyer together with a famous Buddhist monk is now contemplating legal action against CPC in an attempt to stop this daylight robbery and bring the culprits before the judiciary on national interest.

At a time when the country is suffering to even pay USD 1 million for essential items including medicine, it is shocking to know that the corrupt officials of CPC are robbing the nation’s US Dollars and taking it out of the country unnecessarily just to get their commissions paid even before the cargoes arrive in Sri Lanka, this legal luminary said. (Bandula)