‘Dr. Shafi received large sums of money’

Opposition MP Sisira Jayakody said bank account details of Dr. Shafi Shihabdeen, which were tabled in parliament recently, showed that he was receiving colossal amount of money on a daily basis.

Addressing a news briefing on Tuesday, the MP said the details of the account of Dr. Shihabdeen, which is at the People’s Bank, Kurunegala, were tabled in parliament.   

“He had received large sums of money on a daily basis. On August 10 last year, he had received Rs.1 million, and on August 12, Rs. 4 million. He had received Rs.1 million and 1.9 million on September 5 and 27 respectively. We are doubtful whether these funds flew in after the laws pertaining to money laundering were amended by this government,” he said.  
Also, he said the UNP was trying to get Dr. Shafi into parliament after driving away MP S. B. Nawinne. Commenting further on the amendments made to money laundering laws, MP Jayakody said the reforms had allowed the free flow of foreign funds to terrorism and other suspicious activities in the country.   

“Based on the reports submitted to parliament, we see foreign funds coming into various accounts in a suspicious manner. We know Batticaloa Campus (Pvt) Ltd and Heera Foundation received unlimited amount of money in millions. The officials can’t even do an audit on suspicious transactions due to the recent amendments,” he said.