Sri Lanka’s central bank has denied that repayment of forex loans taken from local banks and dollar denominated domestic bonds falling due will be delayed as the country faced foreign exchange shortages and a foreign reserve drain amid money printing.

Sri Lanka’s latest sale of mineral sands mainly ilmenite in a flawed tender process conceals more than it reveals depriving the state of millions of rupees in revenue benefiting middlemen and racketeers, according to an Industries Ministry probe.

Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa knew revenue will be lost by tax cuts but he considered it an investment, and an 8 percent tax rate slashed from 15 percent, will remain unchanged for 5 -years, a top official said.

It was revealed at the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) that cases have been filed by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) in the Colombo Magistrate’s Court to recover Rs 2.67 billion in tax arrears from casinos.