Police intensify probe into Rs 7m cement scam

Sri Lanka loses Chettinad Cement dealership:

Bogus Presidential Adviser nabbed:

By Kurulu Kariyakarawana

Many people misuse their professions to carry out various scams and swindle money. There are elements in the state sector too who misuse power and authority to carry out illegal deals under the very nose of law enforcement bodies. However, crooked officials are not bothered about the consequences nor the outcome involved in such activities.

Cement-mixing in progress at a worksite

Then on the other hand, there are crafty individuals who pretend to have high connections and as a result act as if they were highly influential.

An incident was reported last week where a person who was daring enough to pretend to be a 'Presidential Advisor', and who had in the melee swindled a sum of Rs.7 million from a reputed cement distributing agency in the country because he acted as a 'Presidential advisor'.

Chettinad Cement was a trusted South Indian brand embraced by locals for many decades. The brand is popular in Sri Lanka since the early seventies and cement was even imported during the past three decades. However, imports were stopped for several years during the early period of the last decade and was reintroduced by a Sri Lankan- born trader who

is currently settled in Chennai. The trader who registered his importing and distributing agency as Chettinad Cement Associates successfully carried out his business for a couple of years, when an individual who claimed to be a senior government official and a close associate of a popular Tamil politician in the East volunteered to assist. What followed next was that he swindled millions of rupees from the agency by creating a bogus distributing agency under the same name.

This illegal action incurred not only a loss of millions of rupees but lead to the cancellation of the Chettinad Cement dealership in Sri Lanka as well.

Director, Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau, SSP Ananda Alwis	Proprietor, Chettinad Cement Associates, S. J. Thevan

Sivasubramanium Jeyakala Thevan is a 50-year-old Jaffna born businessman who left the country during the 1983 riots. Now settled in Chennai, India with his family Thevan is a constant visitor of Sri Lanka solely because of his ventures in the country. In September 2011, he registered an importing and distributing agency for Chettinad Cement under the name Chettinad Cement Associates along with a local partner, an Accountant by profession.

Starting with a small quantity of ten containers a week, Thevan developed the local market by affiliating a range of dealers countrywide. Soon the business was growing to be a success with a steady flow of cement from India with 40 to 50 container loads full of bags arrived every week. When the business was flourishing Thevan got an opportunity to meet a leading Tamil politician in the East who pledged his fullest support to the business. Through this politician Thevan met an individual by the name of Rohan Vithanage who introduced himself as being a Presidential Security Coordinating Advisor.

The individual who also claimed to be a former Air Force official proposed to do business together with Chettinad Cement Associates and had come to a mutual understanding with Thevan to buy cement from the latter and to supply tthe cement for his own projects. Rohan had purchased cement from Thevan in small quantities at first with payments made on time.

He had told Thevan that the cement was for several government and private projects around the country where he was the coordinator of the suppliers. He had initially bought 500 to 600 bags of cement a week and likewise several shipments with spot cash paid to the agency earning the trust of the cement dealer. With this trust he then began purchasing cement on credit or at times he only paid for half the batch he ordered. Now a shipment worth of Rs.500, 000 was taken away with a payment of only Rs.200, 000.

When the arrears were building up, Thevan contacted Rohan reminding him about the money he owed to the agency. But every time he was contacted, he pretended to be engaged or busy, coming up with excuses that he has to attend to numerous duties of the President. He convinced the dealer with his talk that he should be excused and that he was not a hoax or fraudster who would run away without paying as he was doing handling a crucial position in the country. Thevan could do nothing but to continue his business by covering the losses with his own money paying the mother company in India.

In the meantime, Thevan learnt that Rohan was supplying cement on a retail basis even without informing the sole distributor of the country. He had allegedly purchased cement from the agency and had supplied it to the agency's original dealers countrywide. When Thevan got to know this from his trustworthy dealers, he inquired this from Rohan who denied everything. While this saga was going on Rohan was giving rather 'strange' advice to Thevan. He asked him never to meet the politician from the East who was their mutual friend, if the latter was hoping to do so by any chance.

He lied to Thevan saying that the politician was not happy to meet him anymore as there were local intelligence reports saying S J Thevan was a RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) agent from India operating under the pretext of a cement importer.

In March 2012, Thevan was approached once again by Rohan with 'friendly advice'- this time around it was to leave the country immediately fearing that he may come under an unexpected attack by certain pro nationalistic elements who hated India for voting against Sri Lanka at the UN Security Council. Thevan did not pay any heed to the hoax warning, he quickly assessed the situation realising that Rohan's intention was to get rid of him and to avoid paying the outstanding monies.

However, the problem became worse when Thevan decided to ask for his money again in May 2012. Rohan met Thevan at the latter's Colombo office and threatened him with death saying that he will be shot if he is ever to ask for the outstanding money again, Thevan told the Sunday Observer.

Being under the impression that Rohan had 'high connections' Thevan backed down that he had no further hope in retrieving his money and also with fearing for his life. He never wanted to bring this up with any law enforcement authority since he had already witnessed how Rohan behaved in certain instances when he was confronted by police. During one of their many journey's Rohan was stopped by the police for violating traffic laws at a pedestrian crossing.

When the traffic police officers asked him for his identification he had furiously snapped at them saying he was not to be questioned as he was a 'presidential advisor'. He had reportedly showed an official identity card bearing the position when they were summoned before the OIC. Within minutes he cleared both of them by allegedly calling certain police top brass.

Once he met Thevan he told him that he was returning from Temple Trees after a Biriyani diet with VIP guests. On many occasions he had requested Thevan to drop him by the rear entrance of Temple Trees pretending that he had to attend to an urgent matter.

Thevan was now nervous even to ask for his outstanding money because of Rohan's so-called connections and finally decided to return to India in June 2012. Thevan who is a heart patient having been subjected to bypass surgery several years ago and functioning with only one kidney was medically in a serious situation and needed constant medical attention following this issue, since his blood pressure levels were dangerously soaring. This made him to return to his home country and rest, ignoring the financial mees he was facing.

That was not the end of the story. During his absence in Sri Lanka, Rohan had allegedly formed a similar importing and distributing agency under the same name Chettinad Cement Associates.

He had collected all the payment cheques addressed to the original company from dealers and retailers countrywide and had encashed them through an account created under the same company name. Likewise he had allegedly swindled millions of rupees which belonged to the Chettinad Cement sole agents. This lead to a crisis within the agencynot being able to pay the money to the mother company for already delivered shipments.

Amidst numerous requests and explanations made by Thevan about the ongoing crisis, Chettinad Cement India cancelled the dealership with the former in August 2012, shutting their doors to Sri Lankan markets.

The entire operations of the Chettinad Cement Associates also came to an end by December 2012.

However, problems were exacerbated further in Sri Lanka where Thevan was given the bad news by his staff in the Colombo office that he should immediately return.

Thevan was told that Rohan had lodged a complaint with the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau that the former had swindled Rs.4.8 million from him.

Confused and agitated by this message Thevan returned to the country in June 2013 and to his utter surprise, he was arrested by the Immigration Control officials at the Bandaranaike International Airport.

Thevan was informed that he was arrested over a complaint lodged at the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau and was later handed over to the Katunayake Police. Katunayake Police after recording an initial statement from him handed over the suspect to the CFIB.

At the CFIB Thevan was interrogated at length by the police detectives who prepared documents unfavourable to Thevan allegedly on the influence of Rohan Vithanage who still posed as a senior officer attached to the Presidential Secretariat.

When Thevan was produced before the Fort Magistrate courts he came out with the entire story to the judge who then ordered the complainant to produce documents of his newly formed cement distributing agency.

The judge who felt that Thevan was innocent and was a heart patient and was under severe stress andhad given him bail and ordered the CFIB to record a full statement from Rohan Vithanage.

In the meantime certain officials working in higher positions of the Colombo FIB had been changed and a fresh team appointed to conduct an impartial inquiry into the case transferring those who had allegedly favoured the complainant.

Newly appointed Director Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau, SSP Ananda Alwis told the Sunday Observer that the complainant Rohan Vithanage was a hoax who pretended in the guise of a' Presidential Advisor' deceiving the public and swindling money. Since the case was running deeper and deeper into a morass with the amount of money involved being calculated to be more than than five million rupees the case was handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department.

In the meantime Chief Inspector Anura Randeniya of the CFIB was also conducting a special inquiry. The case was last heard on Tuesday, March 18 where Rohan Vithanage failed to produce documents of his so-called company to prove whether it was legitimate or not.

An attempt made by Rohan to avoid Thevan from meeting the Parliamentarian from the East was later learnt to be futile because Thevan contacted the politician on a later date on a different matter.

The politician had asked Thevan as to why he did not contact him for the past couple of years not knowing that there was a crisis within the cement importing agency.

Thevan then realised that Rohan had fabricated a tale to avoid him calling the politician and would have lead to the truth being exposed and the latter's bogus identity being exposed.

When the Sunday Observer contacted Chief of Staff Division of the Presidential Secretariat, they said that there wass no officer by that name designated in that position enlisted among the Presidential Advisers or Coordinators.

It was the same answer that they got from the Presidential Security Division, when inquiries from a senior security official who wished to remain anonymous told the Sunday Observer that there is no such officer under the name of Rohan Vithanage serving as a Presidential Security Coordinating Advisor.