The Commissioner General of Motor Traffic has been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) over alleged involvement in several large-scale financial irregularities and fraud linked to vehicle registrations.
The arrest was made last night (March 27) by the Financial Investigation Division of the CID. According to police sources, he is accused of aiding and abetting the false registration of a cab by altering its chassis number. The Commissioner General, who assumed office in April 2025, is scheduled to be produced in court today (March 28).
Long-Running Investigation
The arrest marks a crucial turning point in an extensive investigation that has been ongoing for several years into a large-scale racket involving fraudulent access to the Department of Motor Transport’s (DMT) computer database (e-MOT).
Audit reports had previously revealed that more than 400 illegally imported and assembled vehicles had been falsely registered to evade government taxes.
Earlier investigations found that these fraudulent registrations were carried out through “backdoor access” to the database system, with the involvement of several department officials and external brokers. The CID has been gathering evidence for a prolonged period into a racket involving the registration of luxury vehicles using the number plates and chassis numbers of decommissioned vehicles.
Involvement of Senior Officials
Several senior officials and IT division employees who managed the database have already been arrested in connection with these investigations.
Meanwhile, separate allegations have been leveled against Kamal Amarasinghe, a resident of Mawathagama. He is accused of involvement in preparing forged documents and assembling illegal vehicles with his brother, even before being appointed as Commissioner General of Motor Transport.
The racket linked to him first came to light following a raid on a garage in Mawathagama, based on a tip-off received by the Central Anti-Corruption Unit in Walana. During the raid, a vehicle intended to be illegally assembled was seized, and investigations revealed his alleged involvement.
Following the seizure, when investigators visited the Department of Motor Transport to inspect the file containing the vehicle’s country-of-manufacture documents, it was discovered that the file had gone missing.
In response to ongoing complaints received by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the CID was instructed to carry out a comprehensive technical investigation. Accordingly, the Financial Investigation Unit of the CID has made the latest arrest.
Further investigations are ongoing.
