Thilan Wijesinghe, whose name was mistakenly read out on Bimal's list of those facing lawsuits

The government recently moved to remove the name of Thilan Wijesinghe, former Chairman of the Board of Investment (BOI) of Sri Lanka, from a list of corruption allegations presented to Parliament. However, stating that the damage caused cannot be erased merely by removing his name, he demands an immediate investigation into how a High Court case file that never existed was included in that list.

This 10-page list was presented to Parliament on October 08 by Minister Bimal Ratnayake, Leader of the House and Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development, with the aim of refuting allegations that the government is engaging in political victimization. It detailed 50 corruption, fraud, and criminal cases against former ministers, members of the Rajapaksa family, senior government officials, and businessmen. Thilan Wijesinghe's name was listed as the 50th and final entry, accused of violating anti-corruption laws by awarding contracts for state development projects outside proper procedure.

However, addressing Parliament on October 22, the Minister removed Mr. Wijesinghe's name, along with the names of Ms. Roopavathi Keetheeswaran, former District Secretary of Kilinochchi, and Mr. Jayantha Fernando, former Additional Secretary of the Ministry, from the list. The Minister explained that they may or may not have held state positions during the relevant period, that their inclusion in the list was not essential for building his argument, and reiterated that prosecutions are not based on political victimization.

In a social media post, Mr. Wijesinghe stated that he welcomed the Minister's decision to remove his name from the list presented on October 08. However, he questions how this case reference was included in the list. Although the relevant document cited High Court case number HC/9021/2018 against him, inquiries made by two independent legal teams with the Registrar of the Colombo High Court confirmed that no such case exists under that number.

According to an initial update by Mr. Wijesinghe on October 15, lawyers have learned that only about 800 cases were filed in the Colombo High Court in 2018. According to the court's numbering system, a 9,021st case could not possibly have been filed in that year, and that number is more than 11 times the total number of cases filed in the relevant year.

He points out that the consequences do not end merely by removing a name. Considering his responsibilities on the boards of listed public companies in Sri Lanka and India, he stated that allegations of this nature can affect the trust of regulators, shareholders, and business partners, and that removing a name does not automatically erase these consequences.

Questioning why such serious information was presented without verifying its accuracy, he also observed that knowingly providing false information to a public servant can sometimes be an offense under the Penal Code. He further stated that he has written to the Minister requesting an investigation into the source of this information and the circumstances under which it was included in the list, as a Minister should be able to trust the information presented to them.

In his initial response to this incident on October 09, Mr. Wijesinghe vehemently denied the accusation. According to media reports, the accusation relates to the year 2010, during which time he stated he held no state position but served as the Group Managing Director of Overseas Realty (Ceylon) PLC. He also confirmed that no law enforcement agency had taken a statement from him regarding this matter.