News

AG takes over vital bribery cases

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has directed the Attorney General's Department to take over with immediate effect all “important cases” now in the custody of the Bribery and Corruption Commission and ensure their successful prosecution.

Attorney General C.R. De Silva, PC confirmed the setting up of a special Bribery Unit in his Department on the directive of President Rajapaksa, and said they had already had discussions on Friday with the Bribery and Corruption Commissioners on how work would be allocated and prosecutions done.
Government sources said that the move to bring in the Attorney General's Department to handle what they called a 'stockpile' of bribery and corruption cases came in the wake of a string of incomplete investigations and failed prosecutions by the Commission in recent years.

Recently, a former high-profile Deputy Minister's case was dismissed on a 'technical point' as were several other cases previously involving well-known politicians and public servants who got away scot-free due to faulty handling of cases usually on simple procedural matters.

The independence of the Bribery and Corruption Commission was strengthened by the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, but it has been riddled with problems from its very inception. At one time the Commission was bogged down in in-fighting between its senior officials and sometimes between officials and the Commissioners themselves. They had lost the public's confidence in their ability to nail those involved in bribery and corruption.

Deputy Solicitor General Kapila Waidyaratne will head the special Bribery Unit under the direct supervision of the Attorney General himself. Four Senior State Counsel and one State Counsel have been picked to man the unit. Prosecutions will be handled at the request of the Commission, Mr.
De Silva said. "We will undertake only important prosecutions,” he added.

Following the Presidential directive, the Attorney General has written to the Secretary to the Treasury Dr. P.B. Jayasundera requesting additional funds for the working of the newly set-up special Bribery Unit.
The new unit in the Attorney General's Department will however not entertain complaints, and will only assist in prosecutions where it feels intervention is required. State prosecutors will also appear on behalf of the Commission in the lower courts, like the Magistrate's Courts as well as in the High Courts and in all cases before the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

On Friday, a team from the Attorney General's Department headed by Additional Solicitor General Palitha Fernando met Bribery and Corruption Commissioners Ameer Ismail (Chairman), Indra de Silva and P. Edussuriya to work out the modalities of how to share the work in accordance with the Presidential directive. The Police was not present at the meeting. Another meeting has been scheduled in the coming week.

They are reported to have discussed suggestions to overhaul the workings of the Commission and how to improve detections and prosecutions as well as supervise investigations.

 
Top to the page  |  E-mail  |  views[1]

 

Other News Articles
AG takes over vital bribery cases
Ananda hit by further scandal
Biggest diplomatic reshuffle
Mobile phones: You must carry certificate with you
Bulk of SAARC budget for police
Karuna and Pillayan in 5-hour talks
Duminda case: OIC ordered to explain
UNP a way of life and an education says Ranil
Visa guidelines to check errant UN staffers here
Old boy says Trinity got disputed land from Missionary Trust
Sellers seek more for Rs. 20 lottery
Lawyers call on govt. to restore rule of law
UNP: Police chief mum on security for Janaka
Daytime robber intimidates neighbours
Police deny putting pressure on Colombo lodges
Rhino horn smuggler does it again inspite of warning
School buses to solve traffic chaos: NTC chairman
President in Tirupathi says all Sri Lankans are brothers
Tissa’s case: ‘No citizen is safe from arbitrary detention’
Bishop queries continued detention of journalist
July 10: The flick, flop and the fallout
Kalmunai killings: More questions than answers
Hopes of happy retirement end in tragedy
Bus driver’s bravery averted bigger disaster
Odds and Ends
Tigers losing credibility with civilian attacks
UNP’s Batti chief says grenade was thrown by unknown motorcyclists
PM, not Musharraf, for SAARC
Madhu festival sans Our Lady
Stassen’s – Milford directors sue Harry J.

 

 
Reproduction of articles permitted when used without any alterations to contents and a link to the source page.
© Copyright 2008 | Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.Colombo. Sri Lanka. All Rights Reserved.| Site best viewed in IE ver 6.0 @ 1024 x 768 resolution