Netting LTTE's financial controller:

Huge success for counter-terrorism - Shanaka Jayasekara

By Shanika SRIYANANDA

Shanaka Jayasekara, a counter-terrorism expert based in Australia said netting the LTTE's financial controller, who has access to all financial resources stashed away in secret bank accounts worldwide, by the Netherlands government was a huge success for Sri Lanka's counter-terrorism activities internationally.

"He used the nom de guerre 'Saana Chandran' and operated from the Netherlands. He maintained a hub and spoke network which maintained LTTE financial assets in multiple locations. He could have been a serious threat if he aligned himself with any of the rump LTTE factions. I am hopeful that the Dutch authorities have got access to Saana Chandran's database and will pursue all LTTE secret bank accounts", he said.

Jayasekara, who is an Associate Lecturer, Centre for Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism (PICT) of the Macquarie University in Sydney, was in the Netherlands three weeks ago and said the Sri Lankan government must recognise the admirable work undertaken by the Dutch intelligence unit, AIVD and the Dutch Police in preventing the outflow of LTTE financial assets.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q: What was Nediyavan's role in the post-war LTTE and was he attempting to revive the military wing of the LTTE?

A: The LTTE maintained an international branch network which was controlled by the international secretariat headed by Veerakathy Manivannam (a.k.a Castro) in Kilinochchi. It was Castro who appointed Perinpanayagam Sivaparan (a.k.a. Nediyavan) as the overseas coordinator based in Oslo.

After the LTTE was militarily defeated and the top tier leadership killed, there was a power vacuum. Many considered the sidelined Kumaran Pathmanathan (KP) to be the obvious choice, but Castro loyalists backed Nediyavan. This was further exacerbated with the Tamilnet clique supporting Nediyavan.

After the capture and extradition of KP from Malaysia, Nediyavan led one faction of the LTTE. It was the most organised and structured faction as it evolved out of the LTTE/TCC branch network worldwide. Nediyavan was definitely keen to revive a ground capability in Sri Lanka. He worked in collusion with Vinayakamoorthi Sekarapillai (a.k.a Vinayakam), an LTTE intelligence leader suspected to be in Belgium.

There were many attempts by overseas members of the LTTE travelling to Sri Lanka to establish a ground capability. In one case, instructions were received from Malaysia to an individual in Mannar. In another case, an LTTE activist working for GTV in the UK travelled to Sri Lanka to rebuild a military capability. The Sri Lankan intelligence has been very effective in disrupting these plans.

Q: What is Nediyavan's background?

A: Nediyavan is a trained LTTE combatant. His claim to fame is that he married Sivagowri, daughter of Ranjan Lala a long-standing confidante of Prabhakaran. As a result of his marital connections he was included as a member of the LTTE peace team for the fourth round of talks in Nakhom Pathom in Thailand. Thereafter, his privileged connections secured a plum job as overseas coordinator of the LTTE branch network based in Oslo, Norway.

Q:How will his arrest by the Norwegian police affect the LTTE's international network?

A: In fact, there is some misunderstanding here, Nediyavan was not arrested by the Norwegian Police. The Dutch investigation judge at the District Court in the Hague was conducting a magisterial investigation into the arrest of five suspected LTTE members in the Netherlands for fund-raising and supporting a terrorist group. One of the persons arrested in the Netherlands is the 'Financial Controller' of all LTTE assets worldwide.

The financial controller who operated from the Netherlands had access to all LTTE financial resources stashed away in secret bank accounts worldwide. It is believed as part of this investigation into the financial backbone of the LTTE, the Dutch investigation judge requested from the Norwegian authorities to question Nediyavan.

Financial assets

Q: How did the LTTE 'Financial Controller' operate in the Netherlands?

A: This individual used the nom de guerre 'Saana Chandran' and operated from the Netherlands. He maintained a hub and spoke network which maintained LTTE financial assets in multiple locations. Saana Chandran as the 'financial controller' had insights into all these individual accounts. I refer to Saana Chandran's operation in my research paper 'Fund-raising and Money Transfer Operations' published in October 2007. As and when the LTTE required funds for weapons purchases, Saana Chandran would consolidate finances from multiple accounts and meet the payment requirement. He is the financial mastermind behind the LTTE weapons network.

Q: What impact will the arrest of Saana Chandran have on the future of the LTTE?

A: The LTTE is still an asset-rich organisation. While there are multiple account holders of LTTE assets worldwide, the hub and spoke network that Saana Chandran controlled ensured that it was compartmentalised.

The NRC newspaper on May 14 referred to the arrested man as S. Ramachandran from the town of Schagen in the Netherlands. Therefore, each account holder is only privy to a small part of the assets, however Saana Chandran as the financial controller had overall knowledge of all assets and their locations.

He could have been a serious threat if he aligned himself with any of the LTTE factions. I am hopeful that the Dutch authorities have got access to Saana Chandran's database and will pursue all LTTE secret bank accounts. The Sri Lankan Government must recognise the admirable work undertaken by the Dutch intelligence, AIVD and the Dutch Police in preventing the outflow of LTTE financial assets.

Q: Is there an estimate of how much money is still available with the LTTE ?

A: This is a difficult question to answer. A Jane's Intelligence report dated July 17, 2007 estimates the LTTE annual collection to be around $200 million. The NRC newspaper report places the figure at Euro 136 million. The LTTE progressively became more sophisticated in fund-raising methods. Initially, the LTTE was dependent on individual contributions from the Tamil diaspora. However, as the diaspora established themselves in host countries they became more innovative.

Currently the largest source of income generation for the LTTE is the management of Hindu temples. The LTTE has also invested extensively in telecom companies in the UK and Europe, and some of them have tentacles in Sri Lanka as well.

Illegal network

Q:How is Nediyavan implicated in all this?

A: The fact that Nediyavan has been identified by the Dutch investigation judge as a key member of the LTTE illegal financial and weapons network means that he is involved in this operation. The authorities in the Netherlands have conducted a very detailed investigation codenamed 'Koninck' which, according to media reports, have traced LTTE assets to the tune of Euro 136 million under the control of Saana Chandran.

In the pre-war period Nediyavan, as the then coordinator of overseas branches, would have facilitated the activities of 'financial controller', Saana Chandran. It is evident that Saana Chandran would have required human resources such as money couriers and account holders from the LTTE branch network.

He also would have required material resources such as front companies, bank accounts and investments, all of which would involve the LTTE branch network. Therefore, Nediyavan would have had to play a facilitator role to the LTTE financial controller.

Q: Do you think Nediyavan will be prosecuted in Norway?

A: You need to understand Norway and its intimate relationship with the LTTE. Though Norway is not a European Union (EU) member, they accepted the EU terrorism list. However, after May 29, 2006, after the LTTE was proscribed by the EU, the Norwegian government withdrew from accepting the EU list so that it could continue to interact with the LTTE.

Therefore, unlike most other European countries, Norway is not bound by the EU terrorism list. When it comes to Sri Lankan issues, Norwegian actions are highly politicised and do not follow usual practices. In my view, the LTTE has a status of immunity in Norway.