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Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has raised concerns in Parliament over the continued denial of parliamentary privileges to imprisoned Badulla District MP Chaminda Wijesiri.

Speaking in parliament yesterday (07), he said that Wijesiri had not been allowed to attend parliamentary sessions for the past three days despite formal written requests being submitted to the relevant authorities.

The Opposition Leader said that authorities had ignored repeated demands to have MP Wijesiri transported from prison to the parliamentary chamber.

He stressed that preventing an elected Member of Parliament from attending sittings amounted to a direct violation of parliamentary privileges.

He questioned who was responsible for preventing Wijesiri from coming to Parliament, noting that precedents existed for such arrangements to be made.

Premadasa also said that Wijesiri had been deprived of his right to speak and raise questions in Parliament as a result of being kept away from the chamber.

He said that Sections 3 and 5 of the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act had been violated, and described the situation as an illegal and unconstitutional breach of the MP's privileges.

He added that Wijesiri had consequently lost the opportunity to participate in recent parliamentary debates as well as in meetings of committees of which he is a member.

The Opposition Leader called on the Deputy Speaker to refer the matter to the Privileges Committee in order to establish who was responsible for the breach.

*Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLqsfLfCGxM&t=58s*

Twenty Sri Lankan students have been selected to study Hindi in India availing scholarships under programme titled “Propagation of Hindi Abroad” from Government of India (GOI).

The Indian government will sponsor their visit, academic fees and local hospitality for the 10-month course at the Kendriya Hindi Sansthan (KHS), Agra from August 2026 to May 2027.

On 4 August 2026, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha interacted with the students before their departure to India.

He highlighted the role of Hindi language and literature in strengthening the millennia-old cultural, linguistic, literary, and spiritual ties between India and Sri Lanka.

The links between Hindi and Sinhala words and the origins of words were also discussed. High Commissioner Jha conveyed his best wishes to the scholars for their stay in India.

The selected students include five from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, one each from University of Ruhuna and Sri Palee campus of the University of Colombo and three from Rajarata University in Anuradhapura and eight from University of Kelaniya.

Hindi enjoys wide-spread affection among students and people in Sri Lanka and is taught in around 100 institutions including renowned schools and Universities.

Cultural arm of the High Commission of India, Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre has been coordinating this scholarship programme since 2011.

In the last 14 years, over 200 students from Sri Lanka have been awarded this scholarship.

Hindi language, literature and cinema continue to play a significant role in further deepening the millennia-old civilisational ties between India and Sri Lanka.

Director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shani Abeysekara, has been elevated to the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG).

Abeysekara, who currently heads the CID, received the promotion from SSP to DIG, marking a further advancement in his career within the Sri Lanka Police.

He continues to serve as the Director of the Criminal Investigation Department in his new rank.

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Kabir Hashim has called for an independent forensic audit of the Treasury and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka following a Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) report into a cyber fraud involving public funds.

Hashim made these remarks while opening the parliamentary debate on the CoPF report, which examined a cybercrime-linked fraud that Parliament has established involved approximately $2.5 million in public money.

Criminal Liability Falls Outside CoPF Scope

Citing the Committee's findings, Hashim said Parliament had confirmed that the fraud had taken place, but stressed that establishing criminal liability was a matter for criminal investigators rather than the CoPF.

He said determining whether public officials involved had acted out of negligence, incompetence or deliberate complicity would require a separate criminal inquiry, noting that this fell beyond the Committee's mandate.

Questions Raised Over Suspensions and Accountability

Hashim questioned the decision to suspend four middle-level officers, pointing out that the CoPF report had placed responsibility for several governance failures at a far higher level, specifically with the Secretary to the Treasury and the Governor of the Central Bank.

He argued that the disciplinary action taken so far did not reflect where the report itself had located accountability.

He also raised concerns over whether sufficient secondments had been arranged from the Central Bank to support the transfer of debt management responsibilities to the newly established Public Debt Management Office, suggesting that gaps in this transition may have contributed to the vulnerabilities exposed by the fraud.

Warning Over Wider Implications for Sovereign Debt Confidence

Hashim warned that the fraud carried consequences far beyond the funds directly involved, cautioning that weaknesses in sovereign debt operations risked undermining confidence in Sri Lanka's public financial management.

He said that as a country still working to rebuild international trust following its 2022 sovereign default, the findings carried repercussions extending well beyond the $2.5 million lost, and he renewed his call for an immediate forensic audit to be conducted by independent foreign experts.

Committee Recommends Stronger Controls

The CoPF report itself concluded that governance, procedural and operational failures across several institutions had heightened the risk of the fraud occurring, while reiterating that determining criminal liability lay outside Parliament's oversight function.

The Committee recommended strengthening internal controls, improving cybersecurity systems and tightening verification procedures for sovereign debt repayments to prevent similar incidents in future.

Five coconut oil importing companies have evaded Rs. 9.7 billion in taxes over the past two and a half years, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP S.M. Marikkar alleged in Parliament yesterday (06) reigniting scrutiny over prolonged non-payment of VAT and the Social Security Contribution Levy by a small group of firms.

The allegation, raised by Marikkar for the sixth time since 1 January 2024, was directed at the government amid mounting questions over why the companies had continued to evade payment despite repeated assurances of recovery.

Marikkar noted that he had previously raised the matter with the Prime Minister on one occasion, with Trade and Commerce Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe on two occasions, and with Finance Deputy Minister Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando on two further occasions, before bringing it before Parliament again yesterday.

He said the Prime Minister had assured the House last year that the outstanding taxes would be recovered, yet by the end of July this year the five companies had still not settled the Rs. 9.7 billion owed, having continued to import coconut oil throughout the period without payment.

He said the companies had previously sought tax concessions from the former government, a request the Inland Revenue Department had declined to approve.

He questioned why one importer had continued to meet its tax obligations while the remaining five had been permitted to avoid payment through repeated appeals, pointing out that the Gazette clearly classified coconut oil production as liable for an 18% VAT and a 2.5% Social Security Contribution Levy.

Noting that individuals were routinely arrested over minor tax infringements, Marikka said there was reasonable suspicion as to why these particular companies had continued to escape enforcement.

He further alleged suspicion that firms claiming exemptions may have imported unrefined crude coconut oil, potentially allowing products contaminated with aflatoxin to enter the market, and called on the government to expedite legal proceedings and recover the outstanding sum without further delay.

The Department of Prisons has initiated an inquiry into disturbances reported at the Kuruwita Prison and the Pallansena Open-Air Correctional Center in Dalupotha, Negombo.

Authorities confirmed that the tense conditions that developed at the two facilities earlier on August 7 have since been brought under control following intervention by prison officials.

The Department stated that support from the Sri Lanka Police and the Police Special Task Force (STF) was requested to assist in managing the situation and restoring order within the prisons.

Following the incident, additional security measures have been implemented at both locations, with personnel from the Police, STF, and the Tri-Forces deployed to reinforce security.

The Department said further investigations are underway to determine the circumstances that led to the unrest.

Sri Lanka has added nearly 100 more online betting sites to a list of banned portals as part of a crackdown on unauthorised gambling, the digital economy ministry said today.

Online gambling is legal in Sri Lanka, but operators must register with the authorities and pay a licence fee to the government.

Another 98 sites were added to the list of portals to be blocked in Sri Lanka, two days after 24 major gambling sites were banned.

“Those online gaming sites were operating without licences,” the ministry said.

It also warned Sri Lankans that investing in such sites was illegal.

The banned sites include stake.com, bet365.com, betway.com and 1xBet.com.

“All telecom service providers have been ordered to implement the ban with immediate effect,” the ministry said in a statement.

However, internet users in Sri Lanka can still access the blocked sites using VPN software.

Sri Lanka's battle to rebuild its economy faces an increasingly dangerous challenge from underground money transfer networks that continue to operate beyond the reach of regulators, draining billions in foreign exchange while exposing the country to serious international financial risks.

Despite repeated attempts by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) to bring Hawala and Undiyal operators into the formal financial system, the Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) has revealed a startling reality: not a single local operator has registered under the country's new licensing framework.

The CBSL reduced the minimum capital requirement for registration from Rs. 20 million to Rs. 15 million in an effort to encourage compliance. Yet the response has been virtually non-existent. Only three foreign-registered remittance providers submitted applications before the March 2026 deadline, leaving the domestic informal market untouched.

Financial experts warn that this failure could have severe consequences as Sri Lanka undergoes its third Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Mutual Evaluation.

The Financial Intelligence Unit identifies informal remittance systems as high-risk channels capable of facilitating tax evasion, narcotics financing, underground cryptocurrency transactions and money laundering. Unless authorities demonstrate stronger enforcement, Sri Lanka risks returning to the FATF Grey List, increasing international scrutiny over its financial sector.

Legal weaknesses further complicate enforcement efforts.

Officials informed Parliament that the Foreign Exchange Act of 2017 removed automatic criminal liability for many foreign exchange offences. Investigators now face significant hurdles because prosecutions often require evidence linking operators to larger offences such as money laundering or organised fraud.

Recognising these weaknesses, the Government is preparing legislative amendments that would restore criminal penalties for serious foreign exchange violations.

Meanwhile, the economic impact continues to deepen.

Millions of dollars in remittances reportedly bypass licensed financial institutions every day through parallel settlement systems. Instead of strengthening official foreign reserves, these funds circulate within an underground economy where foreign currency is matched against domestic payments for questionable imports and undocumented commercial transactions.

To counter this trend, authorities have introduced incentives aimed at attracting migrant workers back to formal banking channels.

These include market-based exchange rates that eliminate the pricing advantage once enjoyed by Hawala operators, concessional housing loans administered through the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment, a contributory pension scheme for overseas workers and specialised banking products linked directly to foreign currency remittances.

The Government has also established an Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing operational committee involving 25 state institutions to accelerate legal reforms before the FATF assessment.

Whether these measures can dismantle Sri Lanka's deeply entrenched shadow remittance economy remains uncertain. However, economists caution that failure to act decisively could undermine the country's foreign exchange recovery and weaken investor confidence just as the nation struggles to emerge from its worst financial crisis.

Authorities were forced to use tear gas to bring a tense situation under control at the Pallansena Open-Air Correctional Centre in Dalupotha, Negombo, after a group of inmates launched a protest from the prison roof.

According to reports from the scene, the protesting inmates allegedly threw stones at prison officers during the incident, escalating tensions within the facility.

Security operations at the correctional centre have since been strengthened, with multiple units deployed to manage the situation. Police, the Police Special Task Force (STF), the Police Riot Control Unit, and Sri Lanka Air Force personnel have been mobilised as part of efforts to restore order.

Authorities are continuing to monitor the situation at the facility while further details regarding the cause of the protest are awaited.