Gold smuggling robs country USD 30mn a month

Sri Lanka loses 30 million dollars a month due to gold being smuggled into Sri Lanka, State Minister of Finance, Ranjith Siyambalap-itiya, said yesterday.

“Some people buy gold jewellery outside the country, wear them and return. When they return, they sell the gold in the market. We need to take action against these people because the state is losing taxable income,” Siyambalapitiya said, adding that it was an organised racket and action would be taken to identify the racketeers.