The Supreme Court today (11) confirmed the judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal, upholding the Colombo High Court’s decision to sentence a businessman to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment along with a hefty fine, in connection with what is described as South Asia’s largest VAT fraud, amounting to Rs. 3.9 billion.
The apex court delivered its ruling in response to submissions made by the Attorney General against a petition filed by Mohamed Kuthubdeen, one of the convicted individuals in the case. The judgment was delivered by Justice Janak de Silva, with the concurrence of Justices Arjuna Obeysekera and Sobhitha Rajakaruna.
Deputy Solicitor General Shanil Kularatne, appearing for the Attorney General, argued that Kuthubdeen had no legal grounds to proceed with his appeal, as the Court of Appeal had already ruled against the application and reaffirmed the sentence imposed by the High Court.
Kularatne pointed out that Kuthubdeen, along with two others, had previously been convicted for defrauding Rs. 3.9 billion in VAT refunds from the Department of Inland Revenue between 15 November 2002 and 15 December 2004. The Colombo High Court had sentenced all three individuals to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed fines, following a lengthy trial.
Despite the conviction, all three convicts had fled the country without facing sentencing and later filed appeals challenging the High Court verdict. However, the Court of Appeal rejected their petitions and upheld the original sentences.
In July 2024, Kuthubdeen filed yet another petition with the Court of Appeal, seeking a reconsideration of the previous decision. The Deputy Solicitor General informed the Supreme Court that no order had yet been made on that petition and stressed that Kuthubdeen, as an absconder, lacked any legal right to seek a review of the prior judgment.
He further described the move as an abuse of judicial process and requested the Supreme Court to dismiss the petition and uphold the Court of Appeal’s ruling.
Agreeing with these arguments, the Supreme Court today ruled that Kuthubdeen had no legal basis to request a fresh review of the already adjudicated matter. Justice Janak de Silva noted that allowing such requests would undermine the judicial system and stressed that the law does not permit repeated appeals once a final judgment has been delivered and enforced.
As such, the court reaffirmed the High Court’s original sentence and the Court of Appeal’s ruling, and declared that no further consideration of this matter is necessary.
