A scam is a scam . A fraud is a fraud.
Neither of the above can be treated differently and the Rule of Law and how it's applied must be equal to all.
If one were to ask me which Country, from the many I have travelled to, had a lasting impression on me, without a shred of doubt it is Sri Lanka, for its scenic beauty , lovely people and mystical aura.
If I am also asked which Country has been destroyed simply because the Rule of Law is not applied equally to all, it is Sri Lanka .
In 2006, a man who could not discharge his duties diligently as a Merchandiser in the Garment Industry, started on his own and having failed miserably, decided to venture into one of the most lucrative professions in the world - Religious Preaching . The irony is that not even he realised how vulnerable and gullible the people in Sri Lanka were, more so in the elite capital of Colombo. It was around the same time that the Rajapakse rule had begun and the family, by 2009, had amassed wealth that was unfathomable. However Jerome Fernando's accumulation of wealth stunned even the Rajapakses and before long the open secret was that the first family, also referred to as the elected monarch of Sri Lanka, was using Jerome as one of their elite launderers. I stand by what I have said a hundred times that Jerome thrived under the shroud of the Rajapakse family.
The sad reality is that along the way he managed to mesmerize and bring under his spell Cricket legends , Corporate Leaders, the top brass in Military, Fashion Designers, Politicians, Senior Civil Servants, Business Magnates and even some leading Buddhist Monks who were beneficiaries of the millions doled out to buy their silence.
Around this elite group he built his net work and used them to lure the naive citizens who were literally under a demonic spell going as far as disposing of their properties if the "Prophet" said that God spoke to him and said that the ground on which the house has been built is cursed. The buyer of the property however was the Prophet's subsidiary Real Estate Company who acquired this " cursed" property for pittance from its owners.
Here is the million dollar question for which an answer most likely will never be found in Sri Lanka . " Who provided the cover for Jerome to function in this ghastly manner ?
When the gold mafia episodes were aired on Al Jazeera I spelt out why Jerome can be arrested for tax evasion and money laundering. Using our diligent team in Colombo we accessed documents which proved that Jerome's numerous Companies were registered as limited liability entities with phantom Directors and none of them were declaring their earnings to the Tax Department.
Today's (21st May) Sunday Times reports that the Glorious Church is in a tax controversy. There is nothing controversial about this. It is plain and simply criminal. But then again, as I mentioned at the beginning, this is Sri Lanka where a head of state flew within minutes to the home of a notorious narcotic dealer in Negombo when the Police had raided his warehouse and to add salt to injury embraced the drug lord for the cameras sending a message to the Law Enforcement Agencies -
Do not touch him. In the words of Jerome " I am untouchable "
Dave Richards
Hamptons
London
Neither of the above can be treated differently and the Rule of Law and how it's applied must be equal to all.
If one were to ask me which Country, from the many I have travelled to, had a lasting impression on me, without a shred of doubt it is Sri Lanka, for its scenic beauty , lovely people and mystical aura.
If I am also asked which Country has been destroyed simply because the Rule of Law is not applied equally to all, it is Sri Lanka .
In 2006, a man who could not discharge his duties diligently as a Merchandiser in the Garment Industry, started on his own and having failed miserably, decided to venture into one of the most lucrative professions in the world - Religious Preaching . The irony is that not even he realised how vulnerable and gullible the people in Sri Lanka were, more so in the elite capital of Colombo. It was around the same time that the Rajapakse rule had begun and the family, by 2009, had amassed wealth that was unfathomable. However Jerome Fernando's accumulation of wealth stunned even the Rajapakses and before long the open secret was that the first family, also referred to as the elected monarch of Sri Lanka, was using Jerome as one of their elite launderers. I stand by what I have said a hundred times that Jerome thrived under the shroud of the Rajapakse family.
The sad reality is that along the way he managed to mesmerize and bring under his spell Cricket legends , Corporate Leaders, the top brass in Military, Fashion Designers, Politicians, Senior Civil Servants, Business Magnates and even some leading Buddhist Monks who were beneficiaries of the millions doled out to buy their silence.
Around this elite group he built his net work and used them to lure the naive citizens who were literally under a demonic spell going as far as disposing of their properties if the "Prophet" said that God spoke to him and said that the ground on which the house has been built is cursed. The buyer of the property however was the Prophet's subsidiary Real Estate Company who acquired this " cursed" property for pittance from its owners.
Here is the million dollar question for which an answer most likely will never be found in Sri Lanka . " Who provided the cover for Jerome to function in this ghastly manner ?
When the gold mafia episodes were aired on Al Jazeera I spelt out why Jerome can be arrested for tax evasion and money laundering. Using our diligent team in Colombo we accessed documents which proved that Jerome's numerous Companies were registered as limited liability entities with phantom Directors and none of them were declaring their earnings to the Tax Department.
Today's (21st May) Sunday Times reports that the Glorious Church is in a tax controversy. There is nothing controversial about this. It is plain and simply criminal. But then again, as I mentioned at the beginning, this is Sri Lanka where a head of state flew within minutes to the home of a notorious narcotic dealer in Negombo when the Police had raided his warehouse and to add salt to injury embraced the drug lord for the cameras sending a message to the Law Enforcement Agencies -
Do not touch him. In the words of Jerome " I am untouchable "
Dave Richards
Hamptons
London
