Heated exchange in Parliament over Pandora Papers

A heated exchange of words took place in Parliament today over the Pandora Papers and the allegations made against former Deputy Minister Nirupama Rajapaksa and her husband Thirukumar Nadesan.

The Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) said that the Government must investigate the allegations made against Nirupama Rajapaksa and her husband Thirukumar Nadesan.

SJB Parliamentarian?Thushara Indunil Amarasena said that while singer Yohani de Silva had brought fame to Sri Lanka, Nirupama Rajapaksa has also put Sri Lanka in the spotlight for the wrong reasons.

Government members however slammed the MP accusing him of promoting unverified claims.

State Minister?Shehan Semasinghe said that the allegations had nothing to do with the President or Prime Minister.

He also said that Thirukumar Nadesan had dealings with former presidents J. R Jayawardena, D.B Wijetunga, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and former Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa.

Semasinghe accused the opposition of making claims without knowing the facts.

Pandora papers, considered the biggest trove of leaked offshore data in history, had this week mentioned former Deputy Minister Nirupama Rajapaksa and her husband, accusing them of setting up shell companies and trusts in secrecy jurisdictions.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in Washington alleged that?Nirupama Rajapaksa?and her husband Thirukumar Nadesan used the companies and trusts in secrecy jurisdictions to obtain lucrative consulting contracts from foreign companies doing business with the Sri Lankan Government.

Nirupama Rajapaksa and Nadesan together controlled a shell company they used to buy luxury apartments in London and Sydney, and to make investments, according to leaked files. Nadesan set up other shell companies and trusts in secrecy jurisdictions, and he used them to obtain lucrative consulting contracts from foreign companies doing business with the Sri Lankan government and to buy artwork.? (Colombo Gazette)