Probe into rerouting sugar shipment from India to Maldives

An investigation has been launched into why a shipment of sugar from India, under special concessions to Maldives, was rerouted to Sri Lanka.

According to some Indian media, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) is currently probing the matter. DGFT is the authority overseeing exports and imports under India's Trade Ministry.

The investigation is being conducted into a shipment of 64,000 tonnes of sugar that was exported from India on October 25. Although it was exported at the special rates cited in the concessions granted to Maldives, it has been discovered that a part of the shipment was rerouted to Sri Lanka, media reports.

Due to this, there is a temporary halt in exporting sugar to Maldives, reports say.

With the issue coming to light, Sri Lanka has now stopped granting clearance to the sugar shipment that came from India and started their own investigation into the matter.

Indian media reports state that, at present, efforts are underway to identify which businesses in Sri Lanka are purchasing the sugar meant for Maldives.

It is reported that as of October, 80 containers of sugar meant for the Maldives has been taken to Sri Lanka. A bill of landing from September 30 that has been revealed show that the final destination of 270 tonnes of sugar exported from Nhava Shiva Port in India is Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The invoice cites USD 580 per tonne. This is USD 156,600 owed by a Colombo company to a UAE shipper. Consignee is not named, with 'to be advised' written on the form, meaning it will be handed over to persons advised by the shipping company.

Another invoice for USD 1.5 million was made on September 23 as well, without consignee being named.

Businesses allege that the shipment was diverted to Colombo after changing the invoices. It cannot be exported to a country other than that stated in documents necessary for exportation, and customs clearance forms.

Once the goods are released by Customs, the consignee is changed as desired. Some shipments have also gone from Nhava Shiva Port to Malaysia's Port Klang.