UK fraudster appointed as Minister Mervyn’s Public Relations officer

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s closest political ally, deputy minister Mervyn Silva has appointed a serious fraudster charged in a UK Crown court as his Public Relations Officer (PRO).

Samantha Koralage (known as Sam), a former cricket captain of Richmond College, Galle, is facing a lengthy prison sentence if found guilty of swindling hundreds of thousands of US Dollars from unsuspecting Sri Lankan customers in a pyramid scheme.

He is charged together with Hasantha Vibhava Fonseka, Upul de Soyza and an US national of defrauding customers for over ten-year period.

  The group has promised the investors unbelievable (nearly 50 percent) returns and has paid them interest for a while. The scam was exposed as the UK detectives were informed of the fraud after they stopped interest payments to the investors.

It is thought that well known Sri Lankan personalities -artistes, cricketers and others – are victims of the scheme.

Minister Mervyn Silva is believed to be aware of the scam and the charges against Koralage. It is not known whether Koralage has offered some of his fortune collected from Sri Lankans in UK in order to get appointed to the post.

Koralage is currently actively involved in negotiating business deals, mainly for building flyovers in the south and the north, on behalf of minister Silva.

Though facing a prison sentence, Samantha Koralage is a regular traveler to UK and thought to be the owner of a luxury flat in a wealthy Central London town, Marble Arch. Minister Mervyn Silva’s son, Malaka Manoj Silva, usually stays in Koralage’s flat in Marble Arch, when he travels to London.

Koralage, a regular visitor in Colombo night clubs with Malaka, was a member of the gang that assaulted Chaminda Senasinghe, brother of UNP parliamentarian Sujeewa Senasinghe, some months ago.

Koralage’s mentor in the fraudulent pyramid scheme, Upul de Soyza, meanwhile enjoys greater freedom in Sri Lanka under the patronage of Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

He has taken over the management of Industrial Finance Ltd. –thought to be with the blessings of Defence Secretary – and currently defrauding investors in Sri Lanka.