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Ranil raises concern over submissions levelled against him in court by Bribery Commission
View(s):Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe has raised concern regarding the submissions levelled against him in court by counsel of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption on Friday.
“Submissions made in respect of me is a willful misleading of the Court,” he said.
In a statement issued on Friday, the former President said that in his statement to the Commission on April 28, he stated that the spouse of Chamara Sampath consulted him as to whether his privileges had been violated by a statement made by Minister Samantha Vaidyaratne.
“I stated that since I had given advice as a lawyer, I am not in a position to make any disclosures,” the former President said.
Mr. Wickremesinghe said he had pointed out Articles 148, 149 and 150 of the Constitution to the Commission, whereby Parliament has full control over public finance and the funds of the Republic not allocated by law for specific purposes shall form one Consolidated Fund. He said that monies cannot be withdrawn from the Fund except under the authority of a warrant under the hand of the Minister of Finance, and that therefore, monies held in the Fixed Deposit are a violation of the Constitution.
“The said Circular is only a restatement of the law. A Circular by itself is not law. According to the law the proper course of action is to withdraw the Fixed Deposit and apply for such purposes authorised in the Provincial Budget. These submissions made in respect of me are a willful misleading of the Court. I am consulting my lawyers as to action to be taken,” the ex-president added.
However, counsel for the Bribery Commission in his submission to Court on Friday in the Chamara Sampath case said the said circular was issued on November 22, 2016, while the fund withdrawal in question took place on February 29, 2016 — several months before the circular came into effect.
The court said the Bribery Commission had summoned Mr. Wickremesinghe to record a statement, during which it was revealed that the former President had made his public remarks without knowledge of the actual date the circular was issued and that a statement he had made during a media conference had adversely impacted the ongoing investigation.
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