Towering fraud charges against SLBC Sports Head

The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation has called for explanation from the its Sports Unit head Bandula Saman Waturegama on several counts – but he has denied all charges as a witch hunt against him.

The allegation was that Mr. Waturegama had forged the signature of SLBC chairman Sunil Sarath Perera to obtain Rs. 2.5 million from Sri Lanka Cricket during Sri Lanka’s last cricket tour of England.

Besides the above accusation, some of the other charges are – forwarding false educational certificates and birth certificate to obtain employment, mis-leading a former SLBC chairman and obtaining Rs. 125,000 a month from a Cellular Phone company and sub-letting an SLBC transmission tower and obtaining Rs. 100,000 - for broadcasting commentaries of a cricket match held in Kandy.

Though Waturegama was born on December 1, 1960 the Birth Certificate he has produced to the SLBC states he was born on December 1, 1965, the SLBC claims.

Commenting on the subject, the SLBC chairman Sunil Sarath Perera said the Corporation has called for explanations from Waturegama before the 11th of this month.

Meanwhile the accused sports director who is under interdiction at present airing his views on the matter described it as a witch hunt against him by the SLBC chairman and added “I refute all charges against me and I am willing face any inquiry against me at any given time”.