Minister of Public Security Vijitha Herath said that the Inland Revenue Department will continue to investigate the names of Sri Lankans mentioned in the Pandora documents, who allegedly earned billions of dollars in assets illegally.
He also mentioned that investigations will be conducted regarding the matters mentioned in the Pandora papers and the citizens and politicians of this country who have been accused in that document.
He said that under the new government, these investigations will be implemented strongly.
In the meantime, the Commissioner General of the Inland Revenue Department Mrs. Sepalika Chandrasekara said in an inquiry about this that the government has ordered a special investigation into the tax evading Sri Lankan companies and individuals mentioned in the Pandora papers.
She said that the investigation has already started and it is still at the research stage.
According to the special disclosure made by the International Union of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), 11.9 million financial records of tax evasion and fraud have been revealed in the Pandora files.
Names of Sri Lankans were also included among the persons involved in tax evasion and financial fraud.
On October 3, 2021, the International Association of Investigative Journalists revealed the ‘Pandora Papers’.
600 journalists from 117 countries had gathered for that investigation.
A senior official of the International Federation of Investigative Journalists had announced to the media on October 13, 2021 that a special investigation was initiated in accordance with the powers assigned to the Inland Revenue Department regarding the Sri Lankans mentioned in the Pandora documents published by the International Federation of Investigative Journalists.
Accordingly, the Inland Revenue Department had stated that the files related to the tax payments of Sri Lankans contained in the Pandora documents will be examined and whether there has been any tax evasion.
A senior official of the department had further stated that if the related reports are called by the court, the Inland Income Tax Department is bound to provide them.
