Chandima Veerakkodi, the former Minister of Petroleum and Petroleum Gas, and the current Opposition Member of Parliament, said that there are suspicions that the multinational companies that are going to sign agreements with the government to carry out petroleum-related operations in Sri Lanka are involved in black money smuggling.
Speaking to the media, he said:
“If the Lanka Petroleum Corporation (CPC) incurs losses, the government is fully responsible. Despite this, we acknowledge that the Petroleum Corporation must go through restructuring mechanisms to recover from the status quo. However, we do not see any benefit to the country or to the petroleum legalized corporation by providing foreign companies to carry out petroleum related operations. Considering the fact that there is a shortage of US Dollars (US Dollars) in the country and that the relevant companies receive income in Sri Lanka Rupees, a problematic situation arises as to what their real ambition is. The only thing these companies can do by spending rupees is to buy property like land in the country. Through that, there may be adverse consequences for the country in the long term,” he said.