Task force to trace Govt money stashed overseas

The Sri Lankan government is to set up a Special Presidential Task Force (SPTF) to recover government assets  stashed away in banks overseas,  cabinet spokesman, Rajitha Senaratne said yesterday. “The main purpose of this task force is to investigate, identify, trace, seize and transfer to Sri Lanka, state assets and revenue due to the Government of Sri Lanka which have been illegally or unlawfully acquired or procured by Sri Lankan nationals and other persons acting on their behalf, and are being concealed or kept outside the territory of Sri Lanka,” Mr Senaratne was quoted as telling media. Assistance is being sought from the US and Indian governments to trace these assets and bring them back to the country he said. Giving some high profile cases of money laundering, Senaratne said that a person belonging to a “leading family” who was close to the Rajapaksa regime, has three bank accounts in the Dubai National Bank with US$ 2 billion in them. “We have learned that some of the money has been withdrawn after the (Presidential) election was lost,” the spokesman said.