CID probes oil refinery project

The Criminal Investigation Department has started a probe on the Yahapalana administration’s controversial US$ 3.85bn (nearly Rs 700bn) oil refinery project in Hambantota.

It was announced in March last year that the Omani Ministry of Oil and Gas would have a 30 percent stake in this project. But it later emerged that Oman had no shareholding in the project which was mooted by a Singapore-registered entity called Silver Park International.

Silver Park’s four directors were named as Jegathrakshagan Sundeep Anand, Jagathrakshakan Sri Nisha and Jagathrakshakan Anusuya.

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They are the son, daughter and wife of S. Jagathrakshakan, a controversial Indian politician from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)

While hundreds of acres of land in Hambantota were allocated for the project, there was no environmental impact assessment and still no investors.

The Sunday Times filed a request to the Board of Investment under the Right to

Information Act earlier this year for information regarding the current status of the Silver Park oil refinery. The Sunday Times asked whether the Oman Government or any Omani entity (public or private) had invested in the project or signed any form of agreement to invest or be involved in any way in the project.

Other information was also sought, such as how much land had physically been allocated so far; what the company would do under the project; whether supplementary agreements were signed; who the share holders were and if there was a joint venture; how much investment had been brought in; and whether the lease premium and ground rent had been paid.

The BOI issued a blanket refusal for information on the basis that “there is an ongoing investigation at the Criminal Investigation Division [sic] (CID) regarding the proposed Silver Park Oil Refinery”.