Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe has been requested to be present before the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) in relation to a statement he had made about the bribery case filed against New Democratic Front MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake.

In a letter directed to former President Wickremesinghe, the Assistant Director General of the CIABOC, Asitha Anthony has requested him to be present before the Commission at 09.30 a.m. on Thursday (April 17).

According to the letter, the Assistant Director General noted that the media statement made by the former President indicates that he has more information regarding the case and by making the statement he has gotten involved in the on-going investigations.

Accordingly, former President Ranil Wickremesinghe has been requested to present any relevant information to substantiate his recent statements made pertaining to the case filed against MP Dassanayake.

According to the letter, if the former President fails to appear before the Commission without a valid reason, the commission is bound to act according to the provisions given in article 126 of the Anti-Corruption Act, No. 9 of 2023.

Yesterday (Apr 7), former president Ranil Wickremesinghe claimed that MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake withdrew the fixed deposits belonging to the Uva provincial council, over which he is now facing corruption charges, in accordance with a circular issued during his tenure as the prime minister.

The former president questioned whether the MP’s arrest over the matter was in response to his vocal criticism of the government in parliament.

Parliamentarian Chamara Sampath Dassanayake has been remanded until 21 April by the Badulla Magistrate’s Court for allegedly misappropriating a sum of Rs. 1 million of the Uva Provincial Council in 2016.

MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake was taken into custody on March 27, over three separate corruption-related cases.

The Colombo Magistrate’s Court previously granted bail in the cases filed against him but he remains in remand custody due to an order issued by the Badulla Magistrate’s Court.

According to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), Dassanayake had solicited funds from three state banks, claiming they were intended to provide bags for preschool children in the province.

Two banks complied, granting him Rs. 1 million and Rs. 2.5 million, which were later transferred to his personal foundation account.

However, when a third bank refused to provide funds, Dassanayake reportedly retaliated by withdrawing the Uva Provincial Council’s fixed deposits from that institution.

The Bribery Commission filed a case against the MP, citing the government incurred a financial loss of Rs. 17.3 million due to his actions.

(adaderana.lk)

(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by adaderana.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)

The animal census report received by the Agriculture Ministry is flawed, the ‘Mawbima’ newspaper reports, citing a senior Agriculture Ministry official.

According to the official, certain district-level data appears incorrect and therefore the reports would need to be remade.

Therefore, plans are underway to hold a fresh sample survey on Macaques, Langur monkeys, Grizzled Giant squirrels and Peacocks, the official had said.

A district-level sample survey will be conducted followed by an analysis of the data.

Data from the previous nationwide census will be compared with new findings to produce an accurate report, though no deadline has been set for submitting the final report with recommendations.

The census was conducted on the directive of a committee tasked with mitigating crop damage by wild animals. The Agriculture Ministry’s role is limited to compiling management recommendations based on the data.

It will also take time to engage with stakeholders, collect survey data, review university studies, and consider views from both animal rights activists and farmers to ensure a comprehensive final report, the official had pointed out.

Noting there is a public misconception claiming that the Ministry will release a report on the census, the official had further stated that disclosing the reported numbers of relevant animal populations is not a requirement.

(Source : Mawbima)

The Court of Appeal today (April 11) has ordered to lift an interim injunction order previously issued to prevent the holding of Local Government elections in 18 LG institutions, including the Colombo Municipal Council, on May 06.

.The court further directed that the rejected nomination papers submitted for the aforementioned local government institutions be re-accepted.

This order was issued by a bench of the Court of Appeal judges comprising Acting Chairman of the Appeals Division, Mohamed Lafar Tahir and Priyantha Fernando, after considering a motion filed by the Attorney General.