Courtesy Daily Mirror

Colombo, April 29 (Daily Mirror) – Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe asked yesterday how President Anura Kumara Dissanayake was aware of his correspondence with the Bribery Commission on negotiating a date for him to testify before it.

“I was asked to come to the Bribery Commission on April 15. The Commission said that it had to question me with regard to the statement which I released to the media on April 10, 2025. I said I could not do it as I was out of Colombo during the New Year holiday. Then I was asked to come on April 25. I said I could not come as my lawyer was out of the country. I insisted that I must have my lawyer with me as I am named a suspect. However, President Dissanayake made a remark in Batticaloa stating that I had informed the Bribery Commission that I could not come on April 15 as I was going to celebrate the New Year. I wonder how President Dissanayake became aware of my correspondence with the Bribery Commission,” he said.

The former President also said that the Bribery Commission initially refused to allow a lawyer to accompany him.

Former President, who made a three-hour statement to the Bribery Commission said withdrawing funds of the Uva Provincial Council from the bank and spending them for recurrent or capital expenditure is not a crime.

Mr. Wickremesinghe was summoned before the Bribery Commission yesterday in relation to the withdrawal of Uva Provincial Council funds from a bank by former Chief Minister of Uva Province Chamara Sampath Dassanayake, during the previous regime. “I made a statement to the Bribery Commission and explained my point, and thereby I said keeping funds in a bank account is the real crime,” Mr. Wickremesinghe told the media.

Funds allocated to Provincial Councils by the central government have to be spent on various purposes. Funds have to be spent on recurrent and capital expenditures. The economy becomes active when money is circulated. Spending funds for recurrent and capital expenditures will keep the economy going. If you deposit your money in a bank, it will not circulate in the economy. You cannot gain economic growth by depositing your funds in a bank. Depositing funds in a bank without spending it on day-to-day expenses is a real crime. I explained this point to the Bribery Commission. I told the Commission that the Public Financial Management Act of 2024 clearly defines this point and provides provisos for legitimate spending,” he said.

I told the Commission that there are instances in the past where the state funds, which were deposited in a bank at a high interest, were withdrawn and deposited in another bank at a lower interest. This took place in 2008. Our government in 2002 allowed state funds to be deposited in banks which offered higher interest,” he also said.