A 500 million rupee fraud at the Colombo Municipal Council in 2022.

Based on information received that nearly 500 million rupees have been defrauded within the Colombo Municipal Council under the guise of the severe economic crisis that prevailed in 2022, the investigation division of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry has already launched a comprehensive investigation.

It is suspected that this large-scale financial misappropriation was carried out by making entries indicating that financial assistance of Rs. 3,500 each was provided to nearly 150,000 low-income earners living within the Colombo city limits. However, the fact that no individual who received the said money or any documents issued for it have been found to date has drawn serious attention during these investigations, and officials are currently investigating who actually authorized these payments.

In addition, preliminary investigations have already revealed that massive financial frauds have occurred in the process of leasing out parking spaces and public toilets. This commission, appointed on the instructions of His Excellency President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has been vested with full powers to investigate all frauds that occurred within the Colombo Municipal Council during the period from 2010 to 2025, including illegal recruitments, violations of procurement guidelines, irregularities in leasing movable and immovable properties, abuse of power and state resources, as well as lawsuits and settlements that caused significant losses to the government.

It has been reported to the commission that with the commencement of these extensive investigations, some officials of the Municipal Council have become very fearful and are suddenly avoiding coming to the Municipal Council by feigning illness. A senior official of the commission stated that much larger-scale incidents than anticipated have occurred within the Municipal Council, and a skilled investigation team, including CID officers, has already begun looking into all of them.

This Presidential Commission of Inquiry has been established at No. 152, Galle Road, Colombo 03, according to the Extraordinary Gazette Notification No. 2469/08 issued on December 30, 2025, under Section 02 of the amended Commissions of Inquiry Act No. 17 of 1948. Former High Court Judge and Attorney-at-Law Mr. Piyasena Ranasinghe serves as its Chairman, while Mr. E.R.M.S.H. Ekanayake of the Sri Lanka Accountants' Service (Grade I) and Retired Senior Superintendent of Police Mr. D.S. Wickramasinghe serve as the other members of the commission.