Govt. threatens to sue those who level bribery allegations against President Sirisena
Posted on August 26th, 2016
by Dasun Edirisinghe Courtesy The Island
The government yesterday said it would take legal action against those who levelled bribery allegations against President Maithripala Sirisena, claiming he asked for money before signing an agreement with an Australian company to build a dam when he was the Minister of Agriculture Development and Agrarian Services in 2009.
Addressing the media at the SLFP headquarters, State Minister of Finance Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said legal action was being processed.
According to a media report, published on The Age and Sydney Morning Herald newspapers in Australia on Wednesday (24), President Maithripala Sirisena and his coordinating secretary allegedly demanded a political “donation” to be paid by Snowy Mountains Engineering Company (SMEC) when Mr Sirisena was a Cabinet minister.
The company emails show a plot to skim the money off a World Bank-funded dam project in 2009. In return, Mr Sirisena was to approve the awarding of the dam contract to SMEC, worth $1.82 million .
SMEC’s Sri Lankan manager, who was recently sacked, wrote in emails to two Australian colleagues that he wanted to “inform the minister/co-ordinating secretary” of the size of an alleged kickback to be paid and that he needed to “prioritise” certain payments to unnamed parties “since the signing of the contract would depend” on it.
According to the media report, Co-ordinating-Secretary said this is the way it goes prior to signing the cabinet papers. He wants us to propose an amount/percentage on the contract value. If you could advise me on an amount of percentage based on the financial figures I could inform the minister/ Co-ordinating Sec …”
Twelve days later, the manager wrote another email saying that unnamed “key people” had asked for approximately “1%… of the total contract.”
“The key people have now disclosed their cost as 2.5m LKR [Sri Lankan Rupees, a sum worth about $A27,000]”.
Minister Abeywardena said there was suspicion as to why this issue was came suddenly after seven years and there might be a conspiracy behind that.
“It was not a detailed report and no name of the coordinating secretary, but I can’t comment further as a legal process is on-going,” Abeywardena said.
Responding a query whey the government also raised old issues against Joint Opposition MPs, the minister said those cases were filed with detailed evidence, but the report against the President had no such details.
August 25th, 2016 at 5:34 pm
This allegation has been well documented and published by the Australian Radio and the national papers there.
So you have to file a case in Australia against Australian National media.
I could imagine what would be the outcome of this.
Sri Lankan expats are well respected there. So, AG should know what is he doing?
August 25th, 2016 at 6:28 pm
SL IS A DICTATORSHIP!
Who will save SLs from this DANGEROUS DICTATORSHIP?
Shooting the messenger is a sure sign Sira has something to hide. Why not FCID investigate this MASSIVE CORRUPTION?
There was a trick used by Sira’s election campaign. It goes like this.
1. Take the corruption figure in DOLLARS.
2. CONVERT it to rupees.
3. Then STATE the rupee figure in DOLLARS.
4. Let the others continue this process.
So if you apply this $27,000 to rupees it is 4 million rupees. Then convert it to $4 million. Massive $4 million corruption.
Run-nil, you are next. Remember Sira backstabbed MR? You are next Run-nil. 8 JO MPs are going to join Sira in a week. Their only demand is Run-nil is replaced by another UNPer. That will SPLIT the UNP along existing cracks.
August 25th, 2016 at 6:28 pm
Yes, and the Yahapalanaya Government would have to sue the Age and the Sydney Herald.
The government is absolutely on the defensive and it took them over 24 hours after the story broke to come up with this response. All they are doing is blowing smoke up the rear of the foolish voter/tax payer.
Let’s see how they do this. Is anyone clamoring for an international investigation? What is the AG going to do? Rubber stamp an investigation done by Ranil’s 3 UNP attorney committee?
August 25th, 2016 at 8:27 pm
Could this be a criminal act as terrible as the disappearance of Eknalogoda, the daylight brutal murder of Lasantha Wickramatunga or the stage managed beating up, breaking a leg, killing and burning the vehicle to look like an accident murder of Wasim Thajudeen.
Sri Lanka always had buddhist leaders as well as Buddhist killers including a bald headed one in robes who murdered a prime minister.
Sri Lankans are a bunch of Blood Thirsty Murderers aren’t they.
JP/USA
August 25th, 2016 at 9:24 pm
The president’s time is up, he knows it and we all know it too. That is why he has resorted to blackmail. He threatened the SLFP MP’s not to leave the party because he has their dirty files. He has threatened the journalist not to write any this bad about the government. Now threats against the Australian media and even the Australian federal police? Does he that stupid to even think the Aussies give a damn about him, a puppet president? Wait till Ranil and Chandrika come up with the dirty deals he made with them before the elections.
August 25th, 2016 at 10:34 pm
Oi Lorenzo!
You said that MR was an ABSOLUTE DICTATOR too!
And helped your illustrious backstabbing leader … Maru Sira as you lovingly call him now …. to grab power with a litany of FALSE propaganda against MR rolled out in interminable LISTS!
And Voila! …. here you are now …. the self-proclaimed HIGH IQ Tamil political pundit ….. revealing “Maru Sira’s ” most highly classified secrets in LISTS!
Must be the haal masso coming to life in the HIGH IQ Tamil brain, eh?
August 25th, 2016 at 10:47 pm
Sirisena allows anonymous people to serve as witnesses against the war heroes and provide unverified/unverifiable evidence to an internationally controlled Office of Missing Persons.
But, he will “take legal action” against those who ask the GOSL to investigate allegations of corruption and bribe taking against him?
I think his PRIORITIES are misplaced & reeks of HYPOCRISY & DOUBLE STANDARDS!
Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others!
Ever since this Yamapalanaya grabbed power by devious means, instead of governing justly, all they do is HARASS & PERSECUTE leaders of the previous government with false and hithetto unconfirmed allegations of corruption and bribe taking.
Live by the sword; Die by the sword@
August 25th, 2016 at 11:31 pm
I wont be surprised if this information was put out by the West to find a way to get MS out. After all, MS is not sticking to the script as written by the West. So, what better way to get him out? I wont be surprised if he took the money. Again, all these guys were making money on deals, both past and present MP’s and Ministers.
If MS has to resign, guess who becomes President? It’s RW. RW has already played ball once. He will do whatever his master’s tell him to do. If he becomes President, he will not have elections in the foreseeable future until a new constitution favorable to the West is passed. Once the West gets what it wants, they will set up a base in SL to replace the one they are going to lose soon at Diego Garcia.
August 26th, 2016 at 12:23 am
Australian Federal Police has made these revelations and the Fairfax Media and the ABC has taken this up. Thanks to them but I have my suspicions. These two media outlets like Guardian of UK, the days gone by Conrad Blacks media and other left leaning media have been always anti Sinhalese and pro Indian.
This is only a Police Investigation and even of court cases to follow Australians or overseas persons and corporations involved will not be punished under the current Australian law.
So it may be that after a while the same Australian media will say no action has been taken or that action has been taken and no convictions or convicted but has not been sentenced.
This news will be reported in media in the Island nation as the biggest news and will make Sirisena a Saint.
Indian imperialists and colonial parasites are the most cunning in the world.
August 26th, 2016 at 1:53 am
SMEC introduced “anti-corruption” training to all staff about a year ago. I believe this is not a new incident but only made known now.
Not sure whether this is a plot to impeach Sira and Batalanda to take over. At the moment Batalanda is not able to do anything the way he wants.
August 26th, 2016 at 2:29 am
Old wine in a new bottle?Please MR -president give us good governance and banish stupidity,usher good practice and lifestyles in line with the modern progressive world.Please open the roads by Maligawa to reduce air pollution.We are all falling sick with breathing difficulties. Please don’t divide and rule as we are all in it together. Please make use of your tenure to recover the past neglect.
August 26th, 2016 at 9:38 am
This is traitor chief die hard catholic token Buddhist pol pot ponil wickramaSinhalakiller’s grand plan to oust
maru sira. Once puppet maru sira is gone, traitor chief is going to be the president. When he is in charge he
can destroy Sinhalese race, Sri Lanka and Buddhism to please his masters, the christian west.
Pol pot isn’t just murderous, he is crafty as well.
Batalande wadakaya is MR CLEAN to a lot of Sinhala modayas.
August 26th, 2016 at 6:57 pm
From a Modern Sinhalese.
The West has let Indian Empire and Indian colonial parasites rule most of the Indian Ocean.