A Treasury-appointed probe has revealed that Sri Lanka’s Customs Director General Seevali Arukgoda directly oversaw the release of 323 red label containers without proper checks, raising fresh questions about accountability and transparency.
Sri Lanka’s Customs Department is once again in the spotlight as a high-level investigation has revealed that current Director General of Customs, Seevali Arukgoda, played a direct role in the controversial release of 323 red label containers without proper inspection.
The committee appointed by the Treasury Secretary reported that Arukgoda, initially tasked only with supervising the process, resigned from his supervisory role and assumed responsibility for the release of the containers himself. This decision, according to the report, undermined the purpose of the supervisory committee established to ensure transparency.
Arukgoda told investigators that a three-member committee had been appointed to handle the release of containers, based on a decision taken at the high management meeting on 18 July 2024. Their role, as explained, was to re-route containers marked with red labels that were assigned to Gray Line 1 and 2, allowing their release after scanning rather than subjecting them to physical inspections, or alternatively referring them to the RCT for inspection.
He further stated that he only monitored the committee’s work to enhance transparency. However, the investigative report contradicts this claim. It notes that on 18 January 2025, when 309 of the containers were released, only Customs Director S.A.T.B. Suraweera attended the meeting. Evidence shows that Arukgoda himself moved beyond his supervisory role and directly participated in the release process, effectively sidelining the oversight mechanism.
Public outrage mounted after media outlets reported that a total of 323 containers were released without proper investigation. This prompted the Secretary to the Treasury to appoint an inquiry committee through letter No. MF/ST/01/02 dated 30 January 2025. The committee, chaired by Deputy Secretary to the Treasury A.K. Seneviratne, conducted the probe and submitted its findings, raising serious concerns about accountability within Sri Lanka Customs.
The scandal has now fueled widespread criticism over governance and transparency in customs operations, with growing demands for clarity on how such large-scale releases were allowed to take place unchecked.
