• Lawyers’ Collective to consider same soon 

Amidst the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) being mired in controversy over the alleged misappropriation of a portion of a grant provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Lawyers’ Collective, a leading civil society group comprised of lawyers, said that it is yet to take the matter into consideration while the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) is yet to initiate a probe into the matter.

Last week, a media report alleged that certain members of the BASL had misappropriated a portion of a grant provided by the JICA to conduct a survey and workshops on combating bribery and corruption in Sri Lanka. Those reports alleged that five members of the BASL, including its President, President’s Counsel (PC) Kaushalya Nawaratne, had misappropriated a sum of Rs. 19 million out of the Rs. 21 million provided for the said purpose.

In this context, when contacted by The Daily Morning yesterday (28), Upul Jayasuriya PC, a prominent member of the Lawyers’ Collective as well as a former President of the BASL, said that the Lawyers' Collective is yet to take the particular matter into consideration and that it will be taken up in discussions when the Collective's members meet next. However, he said that certain parties attached to the legal fraternity have brought this matter to the attention of the Lawyers' Collective, and that accordingly, its observations will be published after looking into the matter.

However, when queried by The Daily Morning yesterday, an official attached to the CIABOC said that it has yet to probe into the matter, adding that the particular officer in question does not have the authority to comment on the matter further. Several attempts made to contact CIABOC Chairperson, retired Justice Neil Iddawela, and its Director General Kanishka Wijeratne, to obtain an update on the situation proved futile.

Meanwhile, it was reported that a five-member committee has been appointed by the BASL to investigate certain aspects of the allegations, while an acting President has been appointed.

Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, and Nawaratne were not available for comment.