New book details the criminality exposed, but perversely covered-up

Wednesday, 21 December 2011 01:19 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Nihal Sri Ameresekere releases his new book Colombo Hilton Hotel Construction – Fraud on Sri Lanka Government – Criminality Exposed, but Perversely Covered-up (published by AuthorHouse), the voluminous eighth book in a series by Nihal Sri Ameresekere on corruption, fraud, economic crime, governance, rule of law, dealing with real case studies.

In this new release, Ameresekere analyses in depth, transcending forensic accounting, brilliantly revealing, with incisive diametrics, irrefutable evidence of criminality, in the construction of Colombo Hilton Hotel by Mitsui and Taisei, Japan, with Architects, Kanko Kikaku Sekkeisha Yozo Shibata and Associates.

On successful civil prosecution by Ameresekere in SC Appeal Nos. 33 & 34/1992, the Japanese had written-off US $207 million. He establishes in his book that the original architectural plans had been suppressed or destroyed by a staged fire, with amended architectural plans surreptitiously substituted having cannibalised sheets, with incongruous elevations, whereby such plans could not have been approved. In a Special Presidential Commission Inquiry No. 1/98, he meticulously probes into elevations depicted on floor sheets and cross-sectional sheets, which crucial aspect had been overlooked by professional architectural investigations.

According to the book, he proves the shortfall of floors, with the elevations on tampered sheets bearing ‘tell tale’ evidence of being identical, with elevations in the cross-sectional sheets of the project plan, upon which Hilton International had formulated profitability forecasts, to obtain state guarantees from the government of Sri Lanka to finance the construction, which was a major fraud perpetrated on the people, rendering such guarantees null and void.

Shockingly revealed are perverse endeavours, including by Auditors, KPMG Ford, Rhodes, Thornton and Co., to cover-up this massive fraud, involving those of the upper echelons, with sociopolitical and international ramifications. Appallingly, on the advice of the Attorney General, criminal investigations had been questionably abandoned. Securities Exchange Commission had colluded to cover-up. The Institute of Chartered Accountants had endeavoured to whitewash miscreants.

This is a revealingly absorbing book of real experiences of Amersekere, in exposing and combating a despicable fraud on poor people, which to him was a crime against humanity, and would be invaluable to investigators and prosecutors of commercial frauds and crimes, and civil society urging equal enforcement of the rule of law, notwithstanding the social standing or status of personalities involved.

Books are available from publishers, AuthorHouse US and UK http://www.authorhouse.com, http://www.authorhouse.co.uk, and internationally from leading e-retailers. For more information visit: http://www.consultants21.com/publications