Colombo High Court today sentenced former Deputy Commissioner of the Inland Revenue Department Gnanasiri Jayatilleke a 102 year jail term (to be served in 3 years) while imposing a fine of Rs. 12 billion in connection with the VAT scam which is considered to be the biggest tax scam in South Asia.

The accused was prosecuted on 34 charges and 3 year imprisonment was imposed on the accused for each count. The accused pleaded guilty for charges under which he was prosecuted. The Colombo High Court Judge ordered the 102 year suspended jail term to be served for three years. 

In VAT case, 14 accused were indicted on 34 charges including misappropriation of public funds amounting to Rs. 3.9 billion belonging to the Inland Revenue Department before the Colombo High Court.

The CID launched a full investigation in 2007 on the VAT fraud in the Inland Revenue Department following an Auditor General's report referred by Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B.Jayasundera. 

The VAT refund claims had been obtained during the period from November 15, 2002 and August 25, 2004 concerning 20 companies for which 235 cheques to the tune of Rs 3,573,372,886. 

Many of these companies were found to be fictitious according to investigations conducted at the Registrar of Companies and the transactions were authorised by Assessor and Deputy Inland Revenue Commissioner Gnanasiri Jayatilleke. Investigations conducted at the Registrar of Persons on March 17, 2006 revealed that 10 out of the 20 ID cards used to obtain the cheques were forgeries.