-By Investigative Reporter
(Lanka-e-News -15.Feb.2025, 6.15 PM) Sri Lanka is once again rolling the dice on a high-stakes investment project, this time with a flashy $1.2 billion casino resort, City of Dreams. The project, promising 20,000 jobs and a shot at overtaking Macau as a major offshore gambling hub, is being touted as an economic game-changer. But before the champagne starts flowing, taxpayers have a few pressing questions—where is this money actually coming from?
Leading the charge is John Keells Holdings (JKH), the corporate giant behind the Cinnamon Life project. They claim this mega resort will bring a windfall to the Sri Lankan economy. But the real jackpot isn’t in the casinos—it’s in finding out where this $1.2 billion is materializing from.
Sri Lankan taxpayers, who have seen one too many “mega projects” turn into mega money-laundering schemes, would like some receipts. Full due diligence, please! Where is the source of these funds? What independent audits have been conducted? And most importantly, who is really profiting here?
Even Melco Resorts & Entertainment from Macau has a stake in the project, which raises even more eyebrows. Macau, known as the world’s money laundering capital, is hardly the poster child for financial transparency. Is this an investment or just another offshore laundering operation in disguise?
John Keells boasts about its successful completion of the Cinnamon Life Hotel with 687 rooms—but before we start celebrating, let’s ask the uncomfortable questions:
How was the land acquired? Who authorized the sale, and under what conditions?
Can JKH provide a full audit of the Cinnamon Life project?
Are the funding sources for this new project “clean” or just another financial shell game?
Sri Lanka has been pushing for a clean and transparent economy, and that means no “hanky-panky” money slipping through the cracks. If John Keells is serious, let’s see the financial reports.
There’s also the matter of John Keells’ internal financial health. Rumors are swirling about their US loan transfers into shares—a move that could have serious implications for local investors.
And what about:
Their hiring practices? Why do certain religious groups dominate employment in key sectors?
Their supermarket chain operations? Are these genuinely profitable or propped up by something else?
Their overall capital structure? How stable is JKH really?
Before Sri Lanka bets its future on this casino empire, perhaps it’s time for a full-scale audit of John Keells Holdings. Because if the company is in deeper debt than it lets on, this project might not be a City of Dreams—but a City of Nightmares waiting to collapse under billions in unpaid debts.
Sri Lankan authorities need to ask the tough questions now—before taxpayers are left holding the losing hand.
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by (2025-02-15 12:31:28)
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