Columns

• Defence team calls ASD Dileepa Peiris’ arguments high-handed, personal attacks on Wickremesinghe
• Former High Commissioner Saroja Sirisena and staff tell CID they never saw Wolverhampton University’s invitation letter
• Ranil visits Ekanayake in remand prison; inquires about ‘NPP corruption files’ in presence of prison officer
• Parliament bracing for heated exchanges over Deputy Secretary General’s suspension

By our Political Desk

There were some fast-moving developments this week in the case filed against former President Ranil Wickremesinghe over the alleged misuse of more than Rs. 16.6 million in state funds during what authorities claim was a “private visit” to the UK in 2023 when he was president. Mr Wickremesinghe is alleged to have undertaken the private visit at state expense to attend the graduation ceremony at the University of Wolverhampton, where his wife, Maithree Wickramasinghe, was conferred an honorary professorship. He was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in August last year on these charges and briefly remanded before being released on bail. When the case was taken up again on Wednesday, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Dileepa Peiris informed the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court that the investigation was almost complete and the Attorney General’s Department will file indictments before a three-judge bench of the High Court. The case before the magistrate’s court was re-fixed for April 29.

Mr Wickremesinghe’s lawyers had intervened at this point to demand how ASG Peiris could make pronouncements about indicting their client before a three-judge High Court Trial-at-Bar and stated that it was the Attorney General who must make such a decision. Mr Peiris replied that he was the Attorney General in this courtroom, a statement that attracted some sniggers from the former President’s legal team, but the Colombo Fort Magistrate Isuru Neththikumara pointed out that the ASG’s statement was correct given that he did represent the AG in the case.

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe arriving for his case at the Fort Magistrate’s Court . Pic by Priyanka Samaraweera

Mr Wickremesinghe appeared in court and was sitting on the bench in the dock as ASG Peiris was making his submissions. Observing this, the ASG demanded loudly as to who had given the former president permission to sit down. At this point, Magistrate Neththikumara warned Mr Wickremesinghe that he needed the court’s permission to sit down. Mr Wickremesinghe promptly stood up and asked for permission, which was then given.

The AG’s Department also sought and was granted permission by the court to name former President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake as the second suspect in the case. Mr Ekanayake is accused of aiding and abetting the misuse of state funds by authorising the release of funds for the UK visit in his capacity as then Secretary to the President. The AG had earlier instructed police to arrest Mr Ekanayake over the case, but a CID team that visited his residence on Tuesday had not found him at home. Though the CID had been unable to locate him, the former presidential secretary was present at the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court when the case was taken up on Wednesday. Mr Ekanayake was remanded in custody until February 11 after being named as the second suspect in the case.

A report submitted to the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday by the Officer-in-Charge of the CID’s Financial Investigation Unit 3 detailed, for the first time, statements from witnesses who were questioned by a CID team that flew to the UK in November as part of the probe into Mr Wickremesinghe’s 2023 visit. The team’s visit had been controversial. The Sunday Times reported at the time that the CID team had been sent without informing Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe of any details concerning the visit.

According to the CID’s report, a copy of which has been seen by the Sunday Times, the team had interviewed nearly a dozen current and former staff members at the Sri Lankan High Commission in London, including Saroja Sirisena, who was High Commissioner in London at the time of Mr Wickremesinghe’s September 22-23 visit in 2023. The team had also obtained a statement from current High Commissioner Upali Senadheera and taken charge of the folder at the High Commission containing original documents related to the visit under investigation.

In her statement to the CID team, former High Commissioner Sirisena, who still resides in the UK, had disclosed that she had accompanied then President Wickremesinghe to the graduation ceremony at the University of Wolverhampton held to confer an honorary professorship upon then First Lady Maithree Wickramasinghe, and that she remained in the ceremony hall alongside Mr Wickremesinghe during the event. She clarified that the former president did not go onto the stage during the ceremony. She had also stated that to her knowledge, Mr Wickremesinghe did not engage in any meetings at a diplomatic level during his stay in the UK, and the High Commission had neither prepared nor planned for any such meetings.

She had further stated that upon the former president’s arrival in the UK, no representative of the British Government was present at the airport to receive him and that the president had received no formal invitation from the UK Government regarding this visit. She clarified that for the foreign visit in question on the 22nd and 23rd of September 2023, no sponsorship or assistance was provided by the UK Government for arrangements such as the preparation of the VIP Lounge, attendance at the graduation ceremony, or the provision of accommodation. The total expenditure for these matters was borne by the Government of Sri Lanka, using the financial allocations provided by the then Presidential Secretary.

No media coverage had been arranged for this visit by the former president, nor had a photographer been assigned for the occasion. The former High Commissioner had added that the only event scheduled during the trip was the graduation ceremony at the University of Wolverhampton, and there were no other diplomatic or official meetings apart from this.

The CID had also shown her a copy of the official invitation that Mr Wickremesinghe says he had received from the university to attend his wife’s graduation ceremony. Upon inspecting the document dated September 1, 2023, and signed by one John Raftery (Wolverhampton University Vice-Chancellor), titled “Graduation Luncheon Invitation for Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe, President of Sri Lanka, and Professor Maithree Wickremesinghe, First Lady of Sri Lanka”, the former High Commissioner stated that she had never seen the document before. She had further stated that the document had not been received by the Sri Lankan High Commission during the period of the former president’s visit to the UK and that she only saw it when it was shown to her during the recording of her statement.

Other former and current High Commission staffers interviewed by the CID had also stated that they had not seen the invitation letter sent to Mr Wickremesinghe by the University of Wolverhampton before. The CID’s report further states that there is no record of such an invitation anywhere in the High Commission. There is no copy of such a letter in the folder containing documents relating to the visit, nor is there any record of the letter being delivered to the High Commission in its Daily Mail Register. An examination of the High Commission’s data logs had also confirmed that such a letter had not been received via email, the report adds.

Tilak Marapana, PC, who appeared for Mr Wickremesinghe, asserted that his client had indeed received an official invitation from the university to attend the graduation ceremony and presented a copy of the said invite to court. He questioned why the CID team that visited the UK had not met with officials of the Wolverhampton University to ascertain whether the letter was genuine or not. Magistrate Neththikumara also ordered the CID to obtain a statement from the university authorities regarding the invitation letter, adding that it would be better if the CID could obtain the statement by contacting the university from Sri Lanka, without having to visit the UK again.

In the days leading up to Wednesday’s court case, Mr Wickremesinghe had been meeting with his lawyers, including President’s Counsel Tilak Marapana, Ronald Perera and Anuja Premaratne, to devise a strategy to defend him. Meetings had been held on a daily basis since last Sunday at Mr Wickremesinghe’s office on Flower Road in Colombo. On Monday, Mr Wickremesinghe had received information that the order had been given to the CID to arrest Saman Ekanayake before the case was taken up on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Mr Wickremesinghe had received word that Mr Ekanayake’s arrest was imminent and that a CID team was about to be dispatched to his residence to take him into custody. As stated earlier, Mr Ekanayake was not at his residence when the CID arrived to arrest him.

A final preparatory meeting before the case was taken up was held on Wednesday morning. Aside from Mr Wickremesinghe and his lawyers, senior UNP officials were also present at the meeting, including former ministers Thalatha Atukorale, Harin Fernando, Sagala Ratnayake and Ruwan Wijewardene.

Mr Wickremesinghe and his team also came straight to the Flower Road office at the conclusion of Wednesday’s case to review the day’s events. This time, they were also joined by former ministers G.L. Peiris and Akila Viraj Kariyawasam. Much of the discussion revolved around the conduct of ASG Dileepa Peiris, with many of those present arguing that he had been unnecessarily high-handed and insulting towards Mr Wickremesinghe and his lawyers.

With Mr Ekanayake being moved to the Magazine Prison, Mr Wickremesinghe met with both his own lawyers and those of Mr Ekanayake, led by President’s Counsel Kalinga Indatissa, on Thursday. The former president told those present that the case was a difficult one because it had become heavily politicised and weaponised to target him. “We will have to fight them not just legally, but politically as well. We need to prepare accordingly,” he said. At the conclusion of this meeting, the UNP leader had gone to visit Mr Ekanayake at the Magazine Prison.

Mr Wickremesinghe was allowed to meet Mr Ekanayake, and the two had a friendly discussion, though it was conducted within earshot of a prison officer who had been placed on guard in the room. Aside from discussing the ongoing court case, Mr Wickremesinghe had also asked the former presidential secretary about several “files” the latter had in his possession detailing alleged acts of fraud and corruption by NPP ministers and MPs. Whether Mr Ekanayake does actually possess such files or whether the discussion was engineered to raise concern among government ranks (who would inevitably get to know all that was discussed once the prison officer on guard is debriefed) is unclear.

Meanwhile, a UNP councillor of the Colombo Municipal Council had also been to see Mr Ekanayake, where he had conveyed a message that Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa had inquired into his welfare and would be visiting him over the weekend. Mr Rajapaksa visited Mr Ekanayake at the Magazine Prison yesterday.

PSC sittings on container release

On the subject of fraud and corruption allegations against the NPP government, a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed to probe one of the earliest and most serious incidents has now begun its work. The PSC appointed to investigate the release of 323 containers from the Colombo Port in January 2025 without undergoing mandatory physical inspection will meet every Wednesday. The PSC, chaired by Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara, expects to conclude its probe and submit its report in three months.

Aside from Minister Nanayakkara, other members of the PSC are Ports and Civil Aviation Minister Anura Karunathilaka, Deputy Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe, Deputy Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sunil Watagala, Deputy Power Minister Arkam Ilyas, and MPs Dayasiri Jayasekara, Ajith P. Perera, D.V. Chanaka, Mujibur Rahman, Najith Indika, Mayilvaganam Jegatheeswaran and Lakmali Hemachandra.

At its inaugural meeting on January 21, a preliminary discussion was held on the manner in which future proceedings of the committee should be conducted and on the parties to be summoned before it. The committee has also requested a copy of the report compiled by a four-member committee, headed by Deputy Treasury Secretary A.K. Seneviratne. It was appointed last year to inquire into the release of the containers. The committee submitted its report to the President’s office last July following a four-month probe. This newspaper reported earlier that the report had recommended that an internal inquiry be held and disciplinary action taken against Customs officers who allegedly ignored recommendations made to conduct physical inspections on high-risk ‘Red’-labelled containers after scans had detected uncertainties regarding the contents and quantities inside.

During the PSC’s January 21 meeting, however, an issue arose when Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) parliamentarian Dayasiri Jayasekara, backed by other opposition members on the committee, objected to the presence of Minister Karunathilaka as a member of the PSC. It had been pointed out that there was a clear conflict of interest in Mr Karunathilaka being a member of the PSC and being present at committee meetings given that he is the Minister of Ports. Minister Karunathilaka was appointed as Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation in October during the Cabinet reshuffle affected by President Dissanayake, who removed that portfolio from Minister Bimal Rathnayake amid the continuing controversy surrounding the container issue. Mr Karunathilaka had previously been the Minister of Urban Development, Construction and Housing.

Minister Karunathilaka was absent when the PSC convened on Wednesday, and given the objection to his presence, the government is likely to replace him as a member of the Committee.

The PSC’s opposition members had also requested that the proceedings of the committee be opened to the media in a show of transparency, akin to what occurred at the PSC on the Easter Sunday attacks. It had been pointed out that, just like what happened with the PSC on the Easter attacks, the Committee could decide which proceedings would be opened to the media and which would be held behind closed doors. Government members, though, were not agreeable to the suggestion, and it was eventually decided to hold the entire proceedings of the PSC behind closed doors, with the only public communications with regard to the committee’s proceedings being issued via official press releases through Parliament’s Communications Department.

It was in August 2019 that proceedings of Parliament’s Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) were first opened to the media. The historic decision to open these proceedings to the media was chiefly due to the efforts of the then COPE Chairman—the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)’s then MP Sunil Handunnetti. Not only did opening the proceedings provide a hitherto unseen window for the public to peer into the inner workings of important parliamentary committees such as COPE and the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA), but it also did much to bolster both Mr Handunnetti’s own reputation and that of his party as tireless fighters against fraud and corruption. The move to hold the entire proceedings of the PSC on the release of the containers behind closed doors is yet another instance in a long line of recent examples showing how the JVP-led NPP seems to have adopted an opposite approach when it comes to allowing media access to matters of public importance now that it is in power.

Suspension of Deputy Secretary
General of Parliament

The coming week’s parliamentary sessions are also likely to be dominated by another controversy; specifically, the suspension of the Deputy Secretary General of Parliament and its Chief of Staff, Chaminda Kularatne. He was suspended last week by the Parliament Staff Advisory Committee (SAC), chaired by Speaker Dr Jagath Wickramaratne, following a preliminary inquiry conducted by former administrative service official S.P. Liyanage, on the instructions of the Speaker. He had been instructed to look into how Mr Kularatne came to be appointed to the post of Deputy Secretary General when he purportedly lacked sufficient experience as a permanent government employee to qualify. Opposition MPs are preparing to use the coming parliamentary week to voice their strong displeasure at the suspension, which they say had been ordered without giving Mr Kularatne the opportunity to answer the charges made against him.

Opposition politicians have accused Speaker Wickramaratne of orchestrating Mr Kularatne’s suspension, claiming he had been targeted over suspicions that he had exposed allegations of wrongdoing by the Speaker. Government sources, though, noted that Mr Kularatne’s suspension letter had been issued by the Parliament Secretary General Kushani Rohanadheera and that the decision to suspend him was not solely the decision of the Speaker but of the SAC, which comprises the Speaker, Leader of the House, Opposition Leader, the Finance Minister or his representative and the Secretary General of Parliament. They pointed out that Chief Opposition Whip Gayantha Karunathilaka had been at the SAC meeting representing Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa when the decision was taken to suspend Mr Kularatne. They also note that both Secretary General Rohanadheera and Mr Premadasa were members of the interview panel which selected Mr Kularatne for the post of Deputy Secretary General and Chief of Staff.

The suspension letter issued to Mr Kularatne accuses him of attempting to mislead parliamentary officials by providing false information regarding his prior service history to secure an appointment subject to a one-year probation period, causing financial loss to the government by obtaining a salary step higher than the prescribed level for the post, and acting in violation of the procedural rules of the Public Service Commission.

Mr Kularatne denies the charges as he prepares to file legal action against his suspension in the coming week. He has also lodged complaints with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the Inter- Parliamentary Union and the Association of Secretaries General of Parliament.

The Sunday Times heard from the parliamentary grapevine that a few other senior parliamentary officials will also come under probe in the future for being appointed to top positions without following the due procedures due to political backing. The government seems to be keen to clear out those who have been appointed by previous administrations, some of whom are aligned to different political parties, and the first shot fired, where parliament is concerned, seems to be the suspension of Mr Kularatne.

Meanwhile, there was an unexpected turn this week where the appointment of a new Auditor General is concerned, with the Chief Prelates of the four main Buddhist Chapters stepping in to caution President Dissanayake against making a political appointment to the post. The Chief Prelates of the Malwathu and Asgiriya Chapters, as well as the Amarapura and Ramanna Nikyayas, in a letter addressed to the President, also took the unusual step of naming the person they said would be best for the position. They named Dharmapala Gammanpila, a senior officer with extensive experience within the Auditor General’s Department, as the ideal candidate for the vacant post while adding that this appointment would strengthen the government’s efforts to promote economic prosperity. Following the retirement of the last AG, W.P.C. Wickramaratne, in April 2024, Mr Gammanpila, the next senior-most official at the Auditor General’s Department, was appointed to act in the position for six months, but he was not given the permanent position. Instead, the President sent names of two others, both from outside the National Audit Service, to be confirmed as Auditor General, but both were rejected by the Constitutional Council. With the three new civil society members named to the CC following the expiry of the term of office of the previous holders of the position, the government is hoping to break the deadlock it has faced with the president’s earlier nominees to the post of AG.

The three new civil society representatives are Austin Fernando, Professor Wasantha Seneviratne, and Ranjith Ariyaratne, and they hold the crucial balance of power in the ten-member CC, which is headed by the Speaker. The CC will meet this week, and it will be known then if the country will have a new Auditor General or not.

For a government grappling on multiple fronts with the imminent threat of trade union action by doctors that would cripple the health services as well as unrest in the education sector, finalising the AG would go some way to take the heat off the government, at least on one front.

Namal’s Odisha and Karnataka visits: Preparing for the future   SLPP National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa was in Bhubaneswar in the Indian State of Odisha this week to attend an event celebrating India’s 77th Republic Day. Mr Rajapaksa headed a joint SLPP-SJB delegation comprising MPs Chitral Fernando, Chamidrini Kiriella, Chatura Galappatti, and Prasad Siriwardena from the SJB and former MPs Indika Anuruddha, Sanjeewa Edirimanna, Sampath Athukorala, and Political Bureau member Milinda Rajapaksa from the SLPP. Mr Rajapaksa was the Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations organised by the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), one of India’s leading private universities. He had been invited by KIIT’s founder, Dr Achyuta Samanta. Namal Rajapaksa atop an open vehicle, arriving at the Republic Day event hosted by Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology “Our future depends on regional cooperation, resilience to challenges, and the leadership of the youth,” Mr Rajapaksa said in his speech delivered on the occasion. Mr Rajapaksa also met with Siddaramaiah, the Chief Minister of the State of Karnataka, in Bangalore. He had earlier received a phone call from the Chief Minister asking him to meet with him at his official residence, known as ‘Kaveri.’ Much of the discussion centred on the advances India had made in the information technology sector and Karnataka’s lead position in the field. Mr Rajapaksa received a positive response to his request that he be allowed to send an SLPP delegation to study IT projects in the state. SLPP MP D.V. Chanaka is to lead this delegation, which is expected to travel to Karnataka in February. The visit by Mr Rajapaksa and the SLPP-SJB delegation also had the blessings of the Indian government. Prior to their departure, the delegation had met with Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha in Colombo. During the discussion, the High Commissioner had drawn Mr Rajapaksa’s attention to the significant linguistic similarities between Odia (language spoken in Odisha) and Sinhala due to their common roots in Indo-Aryan languages.