COPE finds Rs. 15 b loss at Lanka Sathosa over rice imports

Saturday, 18 October 2025 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Probes irregular imports which took place a decade ago

The Parliament Secretariat yesterday said that the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) found Lanka Sathosa had suffered a loss of Rs. 15.15 billion from irregular rice imports in 2014 and 2015, conducted in violation of procurement procedures.

The finding was made during a COPE meeting this week which examined the Auditor General’s reports for 2021 and 2022 and the current performance of the state enterprise. According to COPE, Sathosa incurred a cost of Rs. 27 billion on rice imports during the period, while sales revenue reached only Rs. 11.85 billion, resulting in the multibillion-rupee loss.

Committee members questioned whether a formal inquiry had been conducted into the matter. Officials said the Criminal Investigation Department had referred the case to the Attorney General’s Department to consider filing charges.

COPE also found that the company had yet to recover dues from 18 building owners who failed to complete construction projects properly. Despite instructions that advance payments should not be made for undeveloped land, Rs. 34.2 million had been disbursed for 29 contracts without proper estimates, and cases have been filed to recover Rs. 27.4 million.

The committee further noted that Lanka Sathosa had hired key staff on a contractual basis, leading to frequent turnover and weakening accountability. Officials said steps were being taken to extend employment terms to five years to address this issue.

COPE also raised concerns about allowances paid without Treasury approval and shortcomings in the expansion of the company’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, which had incurred high costs but failed to meet operational needs.