The anti-corruption watchdog, Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) filed a petition in the Supreme Court on Monday (12), seeking to intervene in the ongoing fundamental rights (FR) case highlighting the serious allegations of bribery and corruption surrounding the MV X-Press Pearl maritime disaster.
The FR petition had been filed by the Centre for Environmental Justice and three more petitioners.
The TISL said that the petition for intervention refers to serious allegations of irregularity, mishandling, sabotage, bribery, and corruption surrounding the claim for compensation arising from the MV X-Press Pearl disaster.
The organisation has raised the following key points in its petition: the allegations of interference and extraneous pressure surrounding the claim for compensation; the statement by Justice Minister President’s Counsel (PC) Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe in Parliament on 25 April 2023, that one Chamara Gunasekara alias Manjusiri Nissanka had received a payment of $ 250 million into a private bank account in connection with the maritime disaster; the media statements of Chinthaka Waragoda, who reportedly invented a machine to remove debris that washed ashore after the shipwreck, alleging that he was offered payment to discontinue the use of his machine, to avoid exposing the full extent of the damage caused by the disaster; and questions surrounding the quantum of compensation due to Sri Lanka for the damages caused.
The freight ship MV X-Press Pearl caught fire off the coast of Colombo on 20 May 2021. It sank a few days later, releasing its cargo of plastic pellets and tonnes of toxic chemicals into the ocean, causing what is known as Sri Lanka’s worst maritime disaster to date. Allegations are rife that the Sri Lankan authorities obtained the assistance of the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Ltd., a representative of the insurer of the ship owner, in the post-disaster activities, despite the conflict of interest arising from it, the TISL pointed out.
The petition for intervention is fixed for support today (15).