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‘File-gate’ and wanton state corruption

04 May 2022

BY Sumudu Chamara The “files” are finally out. For the first time in Sri Lanka, on Tuesday (3), a large number of incidents of money laundering, the illegal acquisition of public funds, the misuse of public properties, irregularities, and favouritism, were publicly revealed, raising the question as to whether those acts of corruption played a role in creating the economic crisis that the country is going through. These explosive revelations were made by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) Leader MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who has been saying that he has “files” filled with details about financial crimes committed by high ranking politicians, public officials, and also businessmen. Dissanayake explained details about the embezzlement of public funds during the purchase of a Sri Lankan Embassy in the US, which caused massive controversy due to the amount that has been embezzled and the relationship between the culprit, Jaliya Wickramasuriya, and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.  “There is a case in the US involving former Sri Lankan Ambassador to the US Wickramasuriya. The case was based on the incident where he embezzled money when purchasing an embassy for Sri Lanka. The verdict of the case in the US was pronounced in May, and according to what was revealed, out of the $ 6.25 million given to buy the said embassy, $ 3,332,000 had been embezzled as a ‘commission’. In the court, he had admitted to receiving the said ‘commission’.” Speaking of the infamous Pandora Papers released recently, Dissanayake noted that close to $ 160 million was owned by businessman Thiru Nadesan and his wife Nirupama Rajapaksa.  “We have previously stated that under Nadesan, there are a lot of former Minister Basil Rajapaksa’s properties,” Dissnayake claimed. Speaking of the Gin-Nilwala project, Dissanayake alleged corruption during the said project, adding that several former Ministry Secretaries were involved in it.  He charged: “Usually, in our country, after a poll is declared, all purchases of Ministries are halted except essential ones. In such a context, former Irrigation Ministry Secretary Ivan De Silva, who served when Nimal Siripala de Silva was Irrigation Minister, on 24 December 2014 gave Rs. 1,000 million to a Chinese company. This was when the Presidential Election had been scheduled to take place on 8 January 2015.  “On 1 January 2015, a sum of Rs. 2,009 million had been paid to the same company. On 6 January 2015, Rs. 1,003 million had been paid. A total of around Rs. 4,100 million had been paid. However, no activity related to the project has taken place.  “The Chinese company has a bank account in Hong Kong. From that account, money had been transferred to the account of a company named Ruth International, which also has an account in Hong Kong. From time to time, a total of $ 5 million had been released to Ruth International, which belongs to Nadesan. Nadesan’s company had sent money to an account in a Sri Lankan bank in Colpetty. That money has been spent to buy the land in Malwana owned by Basil Rajapaksa,” he alleged.  Dissanayake also spoke extensively on the infamous Airbus deal: “Recently, a case was heard in the London High Court based on an investigation conducted by England, France, and the US into allegations of the French Airbus Company influencing various countries to purchase Airbus aircraft. It was an international investigation.  “When discussing this deal to buy Airbus aircraft, the Director Board of SriLankan Airlines met at former Minister Chamal Rajapaksa’s official residence in Battaramulla, whose son was also a member of the Director Board. An agreement was reached to purchase six A330 aircrafts and four A350 aircrafts, and to obtain four A350 aircrafts on a lease basis. The total value of the deal was $ 2.2 billion.  “Based on an agreement reached, a total of $ 16.18 million had been embezzled, and details were revealed in this regard at the said Court. When the investigations were conducted, it was revealed that the full amount was not paid due to the change of the Government.  “However, a $ 2 million advance payment had been sent to an account in Brunei belonging to the wife of then-SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena. That money was sent to an account in Australia, and from that, a certain amount was sent to three accounts in Sri Lanka, one of which belongs to businessman Nimal Perera.”  Dissanayake stressed that this deal was the biggest deal in the history of SriLankan Airlines. Speaking of another allegation in which Perera is implicated in, Dissanayake described money laundering activities that were recently revealed by a documentary made by an Australian investigative journalism programme, Four Corners. Dissanayake alleged that in addition to the money involved in the Hambantota Hospital project, the money paid by a foreign company for a four acre land in Pettah had also been sent to a Singapore-based bank account which belongs to Perera. Irregularities related to procurement processes, according to Dissanayake, is one of the major types of irregularities taking place in Sri Lanka. He added that the procurement process Sri Lanka had in place was changed in 2011, paving the way for large scale project-related corruption.  “There was a national procurement agency that handled procurement activities related to purchases and construction work. However, in 2011, this procurement agency’s procurement procedures were changed, and the concept of unsolicited procurement was introduced.  “This means that any person can come up with a project and money, and suggest to the Government to implement the project in question and offer money to do that. The usual tender procedure involved choosing necessary projects and calling for tenders.  “However, after 2011, this process was not based on the necessity, but the agencies’ requests to get involved in projects. While a total of 298 proposals had been received, out of them, 62 had been approved. Most of the projects in Sri Lanka are not based on a national economic plan.  “Around 90% of the projects that were implemented after 2011 were based on the expression of willingness to get involved in projects, and they were not concerned about how beneficial the projects are. What is more, due to some proposals being rejected, a notion was created that with Cabinet of Ministers approval, anything can be done.  “But that is not possible. The Cabinet can only grant approval for emergency purchases such as purchases required in disaster situations like a tsunami. However, none of these said projects can be called emergency purchases.  “I am aware of around 51 such projects, including those involving rebuilding the Northern Railway Project which involved € 9.8 million given by an Austrian bank, purchasing 13 train engines at a cost of $ 102 million, constructing the Matara-Beliatta part of the Matara-Kataragama railway line at a cost of $ 278 million, and importing milk cows at a cost of $ 12.9 million. The total amount involved in these deals is $ 7,918 million, € 455 million, and £ 45 million.” Dissanayake also alleged that the Katunayake expressway project was one such project. He explained that even though an engineer’s plan was made in 2003, the project was halted, and in 2008, the project was commenced again. According to him, the amount of money estimated for the project by the 2003 engineer’s plan had increased by 437% by 2008, regarding which he further expressed doubts. Dissanayake also levelled allegations against former Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal as well, charging: “Recently, a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent named Suberu was arrested in the US, and he could not explain how he earned an amount of around $ 12 million. He was sent to jail for 12 years in this case. When his accounts were checked, it had been revealed that Cabraal had given the CIA agent an amount of $ 6.5 million to improve Sri Lanka’s image in the US. However, based on the investigations into the matter, the US says that the money has not been spent for the said purpose.”  Dissanayake said that ideally, investigations into the matter should be conducted in Sri Lanka, stressing that during international level investigations, acts of large-scale corruption by Sri Lankans are also being revealed. He further said that these wrongdoings take place with political protection and involvement. During the press briefing, Dissanayake further revealed that Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son Yoshitha Rajapaksa owns around 31 properties, mainly lands, in various parts of the country. One land-related corruption allegation levelled by Dissanayake relates to the property in which the Carlton Sports Network is located.  “The land belonged to the Urban Development Authority. It was handed over to the Rajapaksa Foundation, which is registered as a charity. How can a land given to a charity be used for such purposes? The value of this land is more than Rs. 200 million,” he explained. Levelling land-related allegations against Basil Rajapaksa, Dissanayake said that the former bought the Malwana land, as well as another Rs. 50 million-worth land in Matara, with money of which the source has not been revealed. One interesting allegation levelled by Dissanayake relates to a misplaced or stolen golden Buddha statue. He revealed: “Once, the Navy seized 45 kilos of gold in the North-East seas. Within 24 hours, a former Navy Commander requested the Customs to release eight kilos of seized gold in order to be deposited in the Sandahiru Seya.  “However, the Customs said that after seizing such a good, a month is given to the owners of such goods to prove their ownership, and that therefore, the gold from the seized eight kilos of gold could not be released, because it was seized the previous day. Instead, they gave eight kilos of previously confiscated gold, and around three kilos of gold was obtained from the Bank of Ceylon too. In total, around 11.5 kilos of gold had been obtained for the said purpose.”  He said that subsequently, several Buddha statues were made, including a one-foot-tall gold Buddha statue, a one-foot-tall gold painted Buddha statue, a one-and-a-half-foot-tall statue, and a two-and-a-half-foot-tall brass statue. Adding that during the said ceremony, one gold Buddha statue had gone missing, Dissanayake expressed grave concerns as to whether the statue that went missing was the gold statue or the gold-painted statue.  In addition, during the press briefing, Dissanayake alleged that Opposition and Samagi Jana Balawegaya Leader Sajith Premadasa had misappropriated a sum of Rs. 3 billion belonging to the Central Cultural Fund (CCF).  Speaking of the misappropriation of these funds during the tenure of former Minister Premadasa, Dissanayake said: “This is about the misappropriation of the CCF monies from 2015 to 2019 during former Minister Premadasa’s tenure. This is a scam of Rs. 3 billion. There were 146 expenditure heads that he had spent without any approval. There is clear evidence given by the officials that this took place on the direct orders of Premadasa.  “On 15 November 2019, less than a month before the Presidential Election, an emergency Director Board meeting was called involving Premadasa, then-Ministers Mano Ganesan, Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, and John Amaratunga, then-Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe, and another, seeking approval for the release of funds. But Wickremesinghe had not signed. However, the then Prime Ministerial Secretary had signed it. Kariyawasam had also not signed it. We have an investigatory file about this too,” said Dissanayake. The controversial Avant Garde Security Services (Pvt.) Ltd. was also mentioned during the press briefing, regarding which Dissanayake said that on several occasions, former Navy Commanders had acted in a way that benefitted the Company financially.  “This business was started by the Navy and was later handed over to the Avant Garde. Initially, it had been agreed to give 25% of the income of the business to the Government. One Navy Commander reduced that percentage to 23%, and after retirement, he joined the Avant Garde to work.  “The next Navy Commander reduced that percentage again, and he also joined the Avant Garde and became an advisor after retirement. The next one also reduced this percentage to 17%, and he also joined the Avant Garde for a job.”  Expressing concerns about this matter, Dissanayake said that there are doubts as to whether those officials used their position to give the businessman who owns the company a chance to earn money illegally. In addition, he explained how former President and incumbent MP Maithripala Sirisena acted against investigating officers in certain cases, and how such acts protected the corrupt and weakened some investigating officers. Moreover, he spoke of irregularities that are said to have happened at the CWG Hambantota Company, claiming: “This company was established for the Commonwealth Games. The company received donations from various donors. Cabraal had given Rs. 100,000, the Sports Ministry Rs. 100 million, the Export Development Board Rs. 8 million, the Sri Lanka Telecom Rs. 10 million, Sampath Bank Rs. 50 million, the Lanka ORIX Leasing Company Rs. 10 million, Mobitel Rs. 5 million, CIC Holdings Rs. 3 million, and Softlogic Holdings Rs. 10 million, among a large number of other donors.  “Altogether, Rs. 688 million had been donated. However, nowhere does it mention what happened to this money. Another report says that some donations have not been deposited to the bank, and that around Rs. 15 million has not been deposited to the relevant bank account.” In addition, Dissanayake alleged that some Ministers that used Government provided vehicles had taken, and/or replaced with low-quality parts, certain parts of the vehicles that had been given to them. Embezzling and the squandering of public funds, according to Dissanayake, goes way beyond what he revealed, and there are many court cases that are still being heard and complaints that are being investigated. As was stated during the press briefing, to address corruption, not only honest political leadership, but also an anti-corruption public movement is necessary.


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