In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka today upheld the sentencing of businessman Mohammed Kuthubdeen to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment along with a hefty fine, for his involvement in a massive VAT tax fraud amounting to Rs. 3.9 billion.
During proceedings held today, the Supreme Court upheld the judgment previously issued by the Colombo High Court and affirmed by the Court of Appeal.
The appeal lodged by the convicted businessman had sought to overturn the High Court’s decision, but the Attorney General’s office argued that the original sentence, previously validated by the Court of Appeal, should remain unchanged.
The Supreme Court justices, including Janak De Silva, Arjuna Obeyesekere, and Sobhitha Rajakaruna, delivered a unanimous verdict confirming that the accused had no legal basis to challenge the earlier decision, especially after evading trial and fleeing the country.
Deputy Solicitor General Shanil Kularatne, appearing for the Attorney General, emphasized that the accused’s request to review the earlier judgment was legally untenable and accused him of abusing the judicial process.
The fraud, committed between November 15, 2002 and December 15, 2004, involved three individuals who were sentenced to 20 years each by the Colombo High Court. All had initially fled the country but later returned to file appeals, which were subsequently dismissed.
As such, the Supreme Court ruled that no further petitions regarding this case will be entertained, affirming the original judgment and penalties, and underlining that the law does not support repeated legal challenges once proper judgments have been delivered. (Newswire)