A person accused of retrieving 50,000 euros via the controversial underground money transfer aka Undiyal has been arrested by the Police Special Task Force in Pepiliyana, based on a tip-off.
The suspect is a 53-year old resident of Borella will be prosecuted for money laundering.
Yesterday, a person accused of attempting to transfer US$47,000 via the Undiyal system was arrested.
MIAP
WEATHER FORECAST FOR 16 May 2022
Issued at 05.30 a.m. on 16 May 2022
South-west monsoon condition is gradually establishing over the island.
Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central and North-Western provinces and in Galle and Matara districts. Heavy showers about 100 mm can occur at some places in Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in Kandy, Nuwara-Eliya, Galle and Matara districts.
Several spells of showers will occur in Northern Province and in Anuradhapura and Hambantota districts.
Strong winds about (40-50) kmph can be expected at times over the western slope of the central hills, Northern, North-Central and North-Western provinces and in Hambantota district.
General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
The Department of Meteorology
About one thousand Police officers have been called in to the Colombo city. These officers have reportedly been called in to Colombo from the Northern, Uva, Southern and Sabaragamuwa Provinces and the Police College.
The officers have been instructed to join the Mirihana Police Stadium under the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Colombo South this afternoon and to bring National Identity Cards, Police Identity Cards, pocket notebooks, raincoats, safety helmets and official clubs, according to reports.
These officers are expected to be deployed for special duties from tomorrow (17) to May 20.
MIAP
The remaining members of the Cabinet of the new government are due to be sworn in today (16), sources disclosed.
As of now, four ministers have been sworn in and 16 more are to be sworn in today, according to sources.
In the meantime, the first Cabinet meeting of the new Ranil-led government is due to be held today, sources further claimed.
A discussion between Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) is reportedly being held since 9 am this (16) morning at the Prime Minister’s Office at Malpara Road, Colombo.
The SLFP has already decided to support the new Ranil-led government and a final decision would be made regarding the acceptance of ministerial posts today, according to sources.
MIAP
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is set to deliver a special statement by addressing the nation today (16).
This would be his first public speech since his swearing in as the Prime Minister for the sixth term in his political career.
The statement is expected to cover the true nature of the current economic situation in Sri Lanka and the plan to resolve the crisis in the objective of building a strong country, sources said.
MIAP
SLPP MP Susil Premajayantha, who is a lawyer by profession, is to be sworn in as the Justice Minister, internal sources claimed.
Premajayantha served as the State Minister of Education Reforms under the SLPP-led government was removed from the position on January 04, 2022 over a statement he had made criticising the government at the Delkanda public fair. The MP then left the government and began to serve with the independent MP group in Parliament.
MIAP
The government together with various local and foreign channels has launched the mission of buying MPs for money and none of the MPs in the Samagi Jana Balawegaya would be caught in such an auction, emphasised Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa speaking to a briefing held in the Opposition Leader’s Office yesterday (15).
Despite the government’s mission of rebuilding the country amidst the collapse befallen Sri Lanka, it has launched the mission of auctioning MPs, the Opposition Leader pointed out.
Should the government feel for the country, it would allocate dollars for the basic needs of the people instead of allocating them for the benefit of MPs, he added.
MIAP
The 10 party group led by former Ministers Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpiila and Vasudewa Nanayakkara are set to meet with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe this (16) morning to hold discussions.
The 10 party group has decided to support any decision taken by Wickremesinghe that benefits the country’s economy, according to sources.
They have made this decision during a discussions held yesterday (15) sources further added.
MIAP
Sri Lanka’s deficit in the trade account narrowed to US dollars 762 million in March 2022, compared to the deficit of US dollars 832 million recorded in March 2021 and US dollars 781 million recorded in February 2022, Central Bank announced.
However, the cumulative deficit in the trade account during January to March 2022 widened to US dollars 2,402 million from US dollars 2,059 million recorded over the same period in 2021.
The ratio of the price of exports to the price of imports deteriorated by 16.0 per cent in March 2022, compared to March 2021, as the import prices increased on a y-o-y basis, compared to a corresponding y-o-y decline in export prices.
Earnings from exports exceeded US dollars 1.0 billion for the tenth consecutive month in March 2022, despite a marginal decline compared to year earlier.
Meanwhile, import expenditure recorded a notable decline, year-on-year, for the first time since February 2021. As a result, the trade deficit declined in March 2022 on a year-on-year basis.
: Earnings from merchandise exports in March 2022 declined by 3.4 per cent over March 2021 to reach US dollars 1,057 million.
A decrease in earnings was observed in agricultural exports and mineral exports, while an increase was recorded in industrial exports.
The cumulative export earnings increased by 9.0 per cent during January-March 2022 over the same period of the last year, amounting to US dollars 3,249 million.
: Expenditure on merchandise imports, which has been falling on a month-on-month basis since January 2022, continued the decline recording the first year-on-year decline since February 2021.
Accordingly, import expenditure declined by 5.6 per cent to US dollars 1,819 million in March 2022, compared to US dollars 1,926 million recorded in March 2021.
A decline in expenditure was observed in import of consumer goods and investment goods, while an increase was recorded in import of intermediate goods.
On a cumulative basis, total import expenditure amounted to US dollars 5,651 million during the first quarter of 2022, recording an increase of 12.1 per cent (yo-y).
Considering the continuous pressure on the external sector, the Government imposed several restrictions on selected non-urgent and non-essential consumer items during March 2022, such as import license requirements, while increasing import duty
Tourist arrivals and workers’ remittances showed a notable improvement in March 2022, compared to the previous month. Foreign investment in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) recorded a net inflow during March 2022.
The Central Bank started publishing a middle rate and variation margin of the interbank weighted average spot exchange rate beginning 13 May 2022 in view of curtailing any large volatility in the intraday exchange rate in the domestic foreign exchange market.
