Overseas friends brought 23 million dollars, but because they were told no here, they took it back - Sangeeth

He stated that a massive financial grant of 23 million US dollars, which a group of overseas friends of renowned singer Sangeeth Wijesuriya had planned to provide to Sri Lanka, has been lost to the country due to the strict conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Speaking in a recent interview with Lahiru's YouTube channel, he revealed that several of his acquaintances residing in the United Kingdom and Australia were ready to donate this money purely as aid to the country, without any profit motive.

He mentioned that he met with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake along with the donors to discuss this financial donation, and that the President then referred them to Deputy Minister of Finance, Professor Anil Jayanth.

During that meeting, Professor Anil Jayanth pointed out that according to the agreements made with the International Monetary Fund and existing financial regulations, there is no legal possibility to directly accept such funds received from other countries as grants or to bring them into the country.

Meanwhile, Mr. Wijesuriya also recalled how, during the last presidential election, an expatriate Sri Lankan attempted to donate one million US dollars for Mr. Anura Kumara Dissanayake's election campaign, but he kindly refused it.

He also stated that he was deeply moved by the current President's request, after refusing to accept such funds as a party, to bring those funds into the country as an investment during the nation-building process after the election.

However, Mr. Sangeeth Wijesuriya further stated that after he revealed these facts on a public platform where the President was also present, some individuals have been severely targeting and attacking him through social media networks.

This statement has now succeeded in creating satire on social media. This statement has led to ridicule due to criticisms about a singer talking politics and an illogical answer.