Exposing Scams - Father and Daughter at a Press Conference

During a special press conference held by former Member of Parliament Lakshman Kiriella and Member of Parliament Chamindrani Kiriella, strong criticisms were leveled against the current government's financial irregularities and administrative weaknesses. Mr. Lakshman Kiriella pointed out that news of large-scale fraud and corruption is heard daily, and stated that over 10,000 million rupees have gone missing from the National Development Bank (NDB), and the actual loss could increase to 20,000 million rupees.

He further pointed out that the government has incurred a massive financial loss due to the coal scam.

He emphasized that the most serious issue is the incident where 800 million rupees of taxpayers' money was credited to a fraudulent account through the Ministry of Finance. Mr. Kiriella accused that the appointment of unsuitable officials to the Ministry of Finance has directly contributed to such serious frauds. He strongly criticized the appointment of a former politician, who lived in Australia for nearly two decades and had no experience in Sri Lanka's administrative service or its laws and regulations, as the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance. He stated that this is a clear theft, especially when 18 officials' signatures are required for the release of funds, and that the President and the Minister of Finance are responsible for this appointment made based on political favoritism. Therefore, he further stated that the relevant Secretary should resign immediately.

Recalling the 'Yahapalana' (good governance) government era, Mr. Kiriella mentioned that during that period, the services of skilled public officials who could work impartially without political victimization were utilized. He also stated that the government received an annual income of 800 billion rupees through VAT collected from high-level businessmen, and the treasury was strong enough to provide 1000 million rupees solely for temples in the Kandy District. He pointed out that when the Yahapalana government left power, there was a foreign exchange reserve of 7,800 million US dollars, but due to the loss of relevant tax revenue by the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government, the country became completely bankrupt by 2022.

Mr. Kiriella suggested that appointing presidential committees to investigate such large-scale frauds is futile, and that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Attorney General should function properly for this purpose. He also requested the public to act patiently until a court decision is reached, without leveling various accusations through social media, as facts have been reported to the court via a 25-page 'B' report against a Kandy District Member of Parliament regarding an incident said to have occurred seven years ago. Furthermore, he warned that oil prices in the world market are bound to rise in the future, as it will take several years to rebuild the infrastructure destroyed due to the ongoing conflicts between America and Iran in the Middle East region.

Speaking at the press conference, Member of Parliament Chamindrani Kiriella stated that although the financial control of the country rests with the Parliament according to the Constitution, the Committee on Public Finance (COPF), chaired by Mr. Harsha de Silva, has not been informed in any way about the fraud that occurred in the Ministry of Finance. She pointed out that the current government, which came to power promising not to politicize state institutions, has made a grave mistake by appointing politically affiliated individuals without experience to high-level positions. She also mentioned that as the opposition, they would take strong action regarding this matter when Parliament reconvenes on May 5th.

The MP stated that it is ironic that the government, which promised the people to bring back money hidden in Uganda, is now bringing in individuals from Australia to handle matters. She emphasized that the transfer of billions of public funds to other accounts is a serious situation that cannot be underestimated. Representing the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, the MP strongly urged the government to hold local government and provincial council elections immediately, without further delay, as her party has continuously demanded.