Sakvithi: King of all cons

Sakvithi: King of all cons
About 5000 investors defrauded of Rs. 900 million
Mirihana Police Inspector involved in racket absconding
Director of Sakvithi company and top ITN official Edwin Ariyadasa questioned
By Asif Fuard, Pix by Sanka Vidanagama
The multi-million rupee ‘Sakvithi’ scam seems to have spared not even the handicapped or the sick as it plundered the wealth of thousands of unsuspecting customers who suddenly realized their lives’ savings had gone up in smoke. The scam was exposed following a raid by the Central Bank on unregistered financial institutions, last Friday.

Sakvithi Ranasinghe
Kingsley de Silva, an ex naval rating suffering from a chronic kidney ailment, has been robbed of Rs. 1.2 million -- money he had saved for a life-saving surgery next month. This money, the 65-year-old Mr. Silva said, included payment he received from the Navy on retirement and the rest from the part-sale of an ancestral land in Maharagama.
But now, he stares into space, not knowing what to do or who to turn to. Dulanjan Atapattu, a retired government service teacher was due to undergo by-pass heart surgery next month. He needed extra money for the operation and medication and invested his savings in what he thought would be an income-generating scheme.
“I invested Rs. 2 million after selling my house. Initially I got a monthly interest of 6% and was impressed with the return. But I was soon to be proved wrong,” Mr. Atapattu said. Wasantha Munasinghe whose hands were amputated following an accident at a factory in Kuwait, where he had worked for nearly 10 years said, he invested everything he earned on Sakvithi, expecting monthly returns, but his hopes had been dashed.
“I can’t find a job as I am handicapped. The Rs. 2.3 million included my life’s savings and the money I received as compensation after the accident. I am now helpless and my plight is such that taking poison seems to be the only option left,” he lamented.
These were the woes of some of the victims who lined up at the Mirihana Police on Monday to lodge their complaints. As more and more complaints keep pouring in, police have begun scheduling appointments to the victims.
Those turning up to lodge complaints are being accommodated in the police station’s garage, with 10 policemen assigned to take down the complaints.
Crowds flocking at the Sakvithi building yesterday and (top) a woman writing down her complaint at the premises.
Before flocking to the police station, the swindled-and-dejected depositors were seen gathered at number 8, Nawala Road, Nugegoda, from where the Sakvithi Housing Constructions Limited operated.
The scam, which has reportedly defrauded about 5000 investors to the tune of a staggering Rs. 900 million, is now being considered one of the largest to have hit the country.
The Mirihana police station and the Nugegoda Police division have deployed special investigation units to probe the scam. So far six suspects have been arrested. However, the mastermind behind the scam, identified as Sakvithi Ranasinghe and his accomplices are evading arrest. According to latest reports, Ranasinghe fled to Chennai, India on September 9 with his family after handing over operations of the office to his accomplices whose whereabouts are unknown.
Sakvithi, as he was popularly known, was an English language tuition teacher by profession However police are yet to ascertain whether that was his real name as he operated under many aliases including Chandrakumar Ranasinghe, A.R.M.C Weerakumaran and Chandra Weerakumara. This man of many names began his financial company in 2003. It operates in Kandy, Kurunegala and Ratnapura.
His rise to stardom came on meeting senior journalist and director of the state run Independent Television Network (ITN), Edwin Ariyadasa. Sakvithi hosted many television programmes through Mr. Ariyadasa’s influence.
Evidence of the close association between Mr. Ariyadasa and Sakvithi can be seen on a poster depicting the two outside the Sakvithi office in Nugegoda and on the cover of an English language DVD for beginners, produced by Sakvithi.
With Mr. Ariyadasa’s assistance Sakvithi managed to launch a large-scale advertising campaign to lure investors into his financial snare. Many of the investors who spoke to The Sunday Times said one of the reason’s they had faith in the company was due to Mr. Ariyadasa’s impeccable reputation. Mr. Ariyadasa was one of the director’s of the company.
When questioned by police, Mr. Ariyadasa claimed he had no knowledge that the company was swindling the investors. Police said he was released after recording a statement as there was little evidence to point to his involvement.
K.M. Leelasena
The victims did not include only unsuspecting investors. K.M. Leelasena who had rented his van to Sakvithi’s company told The Sunday Times that one of Sakvithi drivers, known as Sugathadasa, had told him that Sakvithi had called Sugathadasa last Saturday from Chennai and had instructed him to handover the vehicle to Janaka Siriwardhena, one of the directors of the company. Leelasena had come to the Mirihana Police Station to complain about the loss of his vehicle which he had hired.
“Sakvithi has defaulted payment for the van I rented to him. When I called Sugathadasa to ask for the van, he told me that Sakvithi had called him last Saturday from Chennai and had asked him to give it to Janaka. I wanted to make this complaint but I have been asked to wait for another three days. The police can get his phone number and his whereabouts in Chennai from Sugathadasa. I don’t understand why there is so much delay, to track him down,” he said.
It is learnt that Sakvithi frequented Colombo casinos where he placed bets of over Rs. 200,000, often accompanied by a Police Inspector attached to the Mirihana station. This police officer has now been identified.
Last Monday, this officer along with men armed with clubs and bicycle chains had reportedly come in a lorry to the Sakvithi office premises and taken away items including computers, fax machines, photo copying machines, CDs, laptops and vital documents.
Those who had flocked outside the office stood helpless while vital evidence pertaining to one of the biggest scams that had struck the country was being shoved into a lorry.
Attempts made by some angry duped investors to fight and stand up to the officer ransacking the entire Sakvithi building had been futile, The Sunday Time learns. On witnessing the scene some had gone to make a complaint against the officer and his goons but the Mirihana police had reportedly refused to take down a complaint against their own inspector.
The Sunday Times learns that Sakvithi had been running a gem mining business in Kuruvita under the officer’s name. It is also learnt that the officer has been on sick leave since last week and his whereabouts are not known.
Sakvithi usually means, king of kings but in this fraud of all frauds, the majority of the victims are middle-income-earners who had either deposited their life’s savings or had pawned their jewellery or sold their house or car to invest in Sakvithi in the hope of a high interest on their capital. But now all they are left with is desperate hope that one day their monies would be returned to them, but when or how no one knows.
Trail of tears
H.A Dayananda who was born blind told The Sunday Times that he had invested Rs.3.5 million in Sakvithi with the hope of giving his children a better education and to pay off his loan from the interest he received.
“I sold a land that I had inherited and I was planning to invest it somewhere. I was told about Sakvithi so I called them and Chathuri, Kesara, Nalaka and Dimanthi, who worked there talked me into investing at Sakvithi in February this year. I only got 6% interest for the first few months after that they stopped paying me. I had to go there three of four times to ask for my money and each time they came up with various excuses,” he said.
“I have two children and I spend a lot on their education. I hoped to send them abroad for their higher studies. I also had a plan to buy a small estate in the hill country. I have a loan that I am now unable to pay. I only hope that we get some sort of redress from this calamity,” he said.
T.I.K De Silva lamented that he was now unable to fund his daughter’s education, pay the rent, the bills and his medicine since he had sold his house and invested all he had in Sakvithi.
“I heard about Sakvithi one year ago and I trusted the place because people of eminence such as Edwin Ariyadasa were involved. In January this year I invested the money I got from selling my house.
For the Rs. 1.1 million I invested I received a monthly return of 6%. For the first few months I received my interest but later they stopped paying me,” the retired Colombo Municipal Council clerk said.
“Now I am helpless. I have a lot of commitments. My landlord is asking for his house back as I am unable to pay the rent. Soon I will have to be on the streets,” he said.
A.R.L Salgado who is a retired English school teacher said that his hopes for a better life for him and his family have been shattered.
“I invested some money I had collected for my daughters’ future and also the money my wife got on pawning her jewellery. I sold my house and I rented a house in Minuwangoda. I invested Rs. 1.6 million at Sakvithi and to this day I consider it to be the biggest mistake I ever made. But now my hopes and dreams are shattered. At times I feel like committing suicide,” he said.
K. Wijeysooriya said after making inquiries on Sakvithi he decided to invest his money hoping to increase his returns to buy a new house.
“My wife and I had invested in Sakvithi hoping for a better future. We had plans of buying a new house from the returns we got. I invested Rs. 600,000 last month with the intention of investing more. We did not receive any interest and we eventually found out that the company had duped us,” he said.
S. Bandara from Negombo who is retired and has no means of income had invested Rs. one million that he had saved so he would be able to purchase medicine for his heart condition.
“I invested this money in May last year because I had faith in people like Edwin Ariyadasa. The day I went to invest my money he assured that Sakvithi was an honest man. I can’t afford to buy my medicine anymore as I have invested everything I had. I just hope someone could help people like us who have lost all our hard earned money,” he said.
L. Piyadasa from Mulleriyawa who is suffering from Parkinson’s disease said he feels like taking poison as he has no way of buying medicine for him and his wife.
“I dumped all I had into this. I have no income now. The only way I can survive is by begging on the streets. I hope people like Sakvithi, Edwin Ariyadasa and others responsible rot in hell for what they have done to us,” he said.

from http://www.sundaytimes.lk

Sakvithi scam: Panic spreads to other towns

Sakvithi scam: Panic spreads to other towns
By Asif Fuard
The multi-million-rupee Sakvithi finance company scandal has started causing ripple effects countrywide with panic-stricken depositors demanding the return of their monies from questionable finance companies, reports from the provinces said.
Depositors of six more companies, which were declared illegal by the Central Bank on Friday, rushed to the offices of these companies, demanding their deposits back. Some went to local police stations to lodge complaints.
It is learnt that some of these companies are operating under the cover of co-operative societies.The rush to withdraw deposits from these companies came as the investigations in the "Sakvithi" scandal took a sensational turn yesterday when a senior Mirihana police officer was implicated in the huge fraud while street protests by duped investors continued.Nugegoda Police Superintendent Deshabandu Tennakoon said Inspector K. Pushpakumara, in charge of the communications unit, has been on leave since Monday after he was implicated in the headline-hitting fraud.
He said the inspector had been directed to come to station for questioning tomorrow. Depositors alleged that the inspector was a close associate of English-tutor-turned-investor, Sakvithi Ranasinghe who has gone missing after swindling an estimated 5,000 persons to the tune of more than Rs. 900 million. The victims yesterday claimed they had seen the police officer removing documents and computers from the Sakvithi institution at Nawala Road in Nugegoda on Monday.
An estimated 2,000 depositors and their family members yesterday demonstrated outside the Sakvithi office demanding the arrest of the police officer, the main suspect and other directors of the company. After a one-hour noisy protest, the placard carrying protestors marched to an office of a Nugegoda lawyer who they claimed was the lawyer of the company. They protested outside the lawyer’s office also. Some employees of the lawyer were reportedly assaulted after heated arguments. So far six suspects, including a retired Army Major, have been arrested.
Deadline for six other companies
The Central Bank has given a month’s time for unregistered finance companies to register with the Bank.
“We have asked them to register with us within a month. If they don’t, we will take action. If their application doesn’t meet our criteria, we’ll ask them to return the deposits or face action,” Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal told The Sunday Times. He said new laws were being prepared to give additional powers to the Central Bank and police to prevent such finance company frauds.
It was just three days after the Central Bank raided six unregistered finance companies and warned the owners on Friday, September 19 that Sakvithi Ranasinghe, the English teacher-cum unregistered finance company owner, decamped with millions of rupees of hard-earned depositors’ money.

from http://www.sundaytimes.lk

Sakvithi shock waves still swirling

Sakvithi shock waves still swirling

Duty of Central Bank to keep public informed before not after
The idea that the Central Bank did not do enough to stop these fraudulent financial scams, is a very popular sentiment among many. Although after this incident the Central Bank has named six unauthorised finance institutions that are operating in the country, many feel that the Central bank should have taken this step before
By Stanley Samarasinghe and Rathindra KuruwitaThe financial scam exceeding one hundred million, masterminded by the now infamous English teacher Sakvithi Ranasinghe has not only shocked the nation but has also created a massive panic among the citizens who have invested money in these unauthorised financial institutions. Over the last week, many of us were flooded by the tragic tales of the people who have invested all in the hopes of making easy cash and lost all; T. Nalaka Ekanayake is one of the victims. “I saw the newspaper ads that Sakvithi Ranasinghe was offering a much higher interest rate than other banks. Since someone like Edwin Ariyadasa was on board, I thought that this was a legitimate operation,” he said. “So, when I sold a piece of land I invested one million rupees with Ranasinghe and look what happened, he swindled us,” he wept. But, the question is whether these people were victims of a grand scheme of deception or, whether these men and women were just blinded by the chance of a quick buck. According to T. Gayantha Ekanayake, the brother of Nalaka, it was neither the magnetic personality of Sakvithi Ranasinghe nor the association of Edwin Ariyadasa, that made Nalaka deposit money with Sakvithi, but the allure of easy money.“We sold a land that belonged to both of us and he wanted to invest the money with Sakvithi. I tried to tell him that there is no way that anyone can give you 6000 rupees a month if you invest 100,000 but he would not listen to me, his own brother,” he said. “I think that many of these guys failed to see the bigger picture and think rationally about all this. But the thing is that the Police should have taken more stern action against these frauds,” he added. Rohan Perera: The one who got awayGayantha pointed out that this is not the first time that an individual has embezzled large sums of money and escaped the law by going abroad. Rohan Perera, the chief of the failed Pramuka Bank, who was behind the country’s biggest banking scams in recent history, has managed to evade the police for six years.“The Police and the CID have informed Interpol but so far no clue has been found,” said a senior official at the CID. “When the Central Bank moved to take over the bank in 2002, Perera vanished without a trace but some time later, he gave European newspapers an interview. We are still on his trail,” he added.State of the investigation Police spokesman SSP Ranjith Gunasekera said that they have received more than 680 complaints from depositors and they have identified 4100 who have invested with Sakvithi.“From what we know, he has collected over 108 million rupees but that figure can be much higher,” he said. “From the information we have received, he is in Chennai and we have informed Interpol about him,” he said.According to Gunasekera, the Interpol is operating in 186 countries but he said that in order for them to make an arrest someone should tip off Interpol. “Since they have so much work on their hands, they will not be able to take any action without a tip off but we are confident that we will be able to apprehend him,” he said.Meanwhile, the Police have arrested five individuals, four male and one female, who were working for Sakvithi. “We are not trying to arrest everyone who was employed, we are only targeting individuals who can incriminate Sakvithi,” Police spokesman saidThe idea that the Central Bank did not do enough to stop these fraudulent financial scams, is a very popular sentiment among many. Although after this incident the Central Bank has named six unauthorised finance institutions that are operating in the country, many feel that the Central bank should have taken this step before. But, as Director Supervision of Non Banking Financial Institution S. S. Ratnayake said, men like Sakvithi were using ingenious ways to exploit the legal loop holes. Ratnayake added that, some time back, the Central Bank had asked Sakvithi to put an end to his Financial Institute, but he started the same business in a different form.“His new method was to sign an agreement with the depositor in which the depositor is termed as an “investor” who deposits his money for the purpose of obtaining employment,” he said. “So, the monthly interest he gets, whether it is 6000 or 600,000 it is called “his monthly salary.” When we heard about this arrangement, we started a new inquiry and it is during this time that he has gone abroad,” he added. Ratnayake added that the Central Bank was hesitant to take more direct action because several such unlicensed financial institutes have taken the Central Bank to courts several times and obtained favourable results.“Once, when the Central Bank confiscated documents of Okanda Finance, they went to courts and obtained a favourable judgment. Their argument was that there is no law that prevented from someone from giving a loan to another,” he said. “But we have identified these institutes and have constantly informed the public about the existence and activities through media. Some financial institutions have gone to courts claiming that C.B. has no right to publish such advertisements causing harm to their business and the thing is that the courts have repeatedly accepted their claims,” he added.

http://www.nation.lk/

"Believe me, I’m not a thief,’’ says Edwin AriyadasaOver 4,000 diddled by Sakvithi scam, total desposits still unclear


by Shamindra Ferdinando
The police investigating a massive financial fraud committed by a person who called himself Deshamanya Sakvithi Ranasinghe Sir are in a dilemma over the action to be taken against Edwin Ariyadasa, a prominent media personality who had functioned as the joint director of S. R. Property Sharing Investment (Private) Limited, set up by the suspected conman.
There has been no final computation yet on the total extent of desposits taken by the company although over 4,000 depositors had put their money into the venture and complaints continue to flow.
Police have arrested several persons, including a retired army officer employed by the suspect who is not in the country. The statement of Ariyadasa, who had been the highest paid employee at the unauthorized company, has been recorded.
The Sunday Island learns that many persons who had lodged complaints with Mirihana Police regarding their losses had claimed that they received assurances from Ariyadasa with regard to stability of the operation in which he participated.
Police said that although the suspect was known as Sakvithi Ranasinghe, the company had been registered by a person identified as Abaya Ranasinghe Mudiyanselage Chandana Weerakumara and Jamburuthugoda Gamage Kumari Anuradhini of 175/4, Madiwela Road, Embuldeniya, Nugegoda.
With the help of Ariyadasa, one of Sakvithi’s employees had visited `Temple Trees’ where he had the opportunity being photographed with the President, the sources said.
Responding to our queries, the sources said that Sakvithi had taken advantage of this meeting, the sources said, emphasizing that a visit to `Temple Trees’ wouldn’t have been a reality without Ariyadasa’s help.
Ariyadasa has received a monthly payment of Rs. 100,000 for promoting the business interests of the suspect. The sources said that under an agreement the suspect had with Rupavahini, he conducted English classes on the national channel (Sunday afternoon at 3.30 p.m.). The agreement with Rupavahini followed his agreement with TNL to air English classes, the sources said
Responding to our queries, the sources said that the day before a large group of people surrounded Ranasinghe’s office in the Mirihana police area last Monday (22), he had advertised his business. According to an advertisement, with photographs of the suspect and Ariyadasa who was identified as the project director, depositors were offered a monthly interest of Rs. 4,000 to Rs. 6,000 for each Rs. 100,000 deposited with him.
He also offered a monthly interest of Rs. 6,000 for deposits of Rs. 200,000 or more. The advertisement published by Sakvithi House Constructions (Pvt) Limited gave mobile telephone numbers of four of Sakvithi’s employees responsible for bringing in new deposits. Among them was the employee who had visited Temple Trees with Ariyadasa.
The sources pointed out that the advertisement referred to the programme conducted by Sakvithi on Rupavahini Sunday afternoon. It was evidence that this particular programme too, had been used to entice more investors, the sources said. Ariyadasa also appeared on this programme along with Sakvithi.
Police said that over 4,000 people had been deceived by the racketeer. Some of them, in their statements to Mirihana Police, had said that they felt comfortable with Ariyadasa’s guarantee.
The sources said that the suspect had given two luxury cars to two young girls employed at his office. They played a critical role in deceiving the victims, the sources said, adding that some of the employees may have taken money secretly despite the majority of them being the recipients of handsome commissions for bringing in fresh investments.
Ariyadasa told The Sunday Island that he too was deceived by Sakvithi Sir. Responding to our queries, he said that he received a monthly payment of Rs. 100,000 inclusive of a range of allowances.
"But I was never part his financial dealings," he said, acknowledging that his name had been exploited to entice depositors.
Ariyadasa had joined Sakvithi in April last year on the invitation of Lanka Jayawardene who had been with the Agriculture Department for a long period. "We met on April 18, 2007," Ariyadasa said, adding that he had received appointment as the Programme Director of IT Management Solution which was primarily responsible for promoting Sakvithi’s English training package.
"Believe me, I am not thief," the respected media personality said when The Sunday Island asked him whether he was fully aware of the exploitation of his name to dupe thousands of people.
According to him, Sakvithi through his contacts in the Army and the Health Ministry had the opportunity to market his English training course at training facilities for nurses and army bases at Weli Oya, Maduru Oya, Galkulama, Galkiriyagama, Nelunkulama, Minneriya and Polonnaruwa and many other areas.
"Both officers and men brought course material priced at Rs. 3,000," Ariyadasa said, adding that Sakvithi had at least 100 employees based at his head office. "It was a big operation and people I am sure were tempted by unprecedented interests offered," he said.
Asked about his visit to Temple Trees with K. B. Kesara, an executive with Sakvithi’s group, Ariyadasa said that the President had invited him on December 3 last year to felicitate him on his birthday.
"Kesara offered to take me to Temple Trees and he accompanied me to the meeting with the President." Ariyadasa failed to explain how the Sakvithi executive who offered to drop him at Temple Trees had managed to gain entry without being invited.
Ariyadasa said that Sakvithi was a monster who deceived him and destroyed his image.
Police headquarters yesterday said that over 800 complaints had been received by Saturday. Police said they weren’t in a position to estimate the total amount of money collected by the fraudster as complaints were being received even now.
The total number of depositors could be over 4,100, police said on the basis of the documents recovered from Sakvithi’s office.

From http://island.lk