08 employees questioned regarding the disappearance of items from the Speaker's official residence

In connection with the incident of the disappearance of the inventory of items belonging to the Speaker's official residence, eight employees of that residence have been instructed to appear before the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption. They have been further ordered to bring the relevant missing book when appearing before the commission.

This summons was issued to the relevant employees by the OIC of the Special Investigations Unit of the Bribery Commission, through the Deputy Director of Administration of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.

According to reports, this inventory book of items went missing amidst an investigation launched by the Bribery Commission against the Speaker. Following this summons, one employee appeared before the Bribery Commission yesterday, the 2nd, where investigators questioned him and recorded his statement.

The remaining seven employees have been ordered to appear before the commission on the upcoming 12th, 13th, 15th, and 16th. Additionally, in connection with this incident, Mr. Pasan Athukorala, the manager of the Speaker's official residence, was also questioned by the Bribery Commission recently. It is reported that he was interrogated for nearly five hours and a statement was recorded from him.

The current Speaker had converted the Speaker's official residence in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte into a Parliamentary Studies and Research Centre in August 2025 and, in accordance with the policies of the Compass Party, had moved into a government official residence in Kollupitiya without residing in the official residence. However, this issue arose due to the current Speaker's attempt to secretly enjoy those facilities. This issue first emerged after journalist Uvindu Kurukulasuriya accused that valuable items including bed sheets, pillowcases, towels, mattresses, and kitchen utensils from the Speaker's official residence in Sri Lanka had been moved to the official residence in Kollupitiya.