CBK, Ranil in argument over hidden money in Dubai; Ranil says couldn’t find any

• Sent teams to Europe, Hong Kong and Singapore but could not find a single dollar
• Person who claimed of hidden money in Uganda is also withdrawing the allegation
• We haven’t had a sophisticated machinery that is needed to control corruption

By Ajith Siriwardana  

Former presidents Ranil Wickremesinghe and Chandrika Kumaratunga engulfed in heated argument over an incident of a certain political leader’s young son hiding USD 1000 million in a Dubai bank, where Mr. Wickremesinghe rebuffed the allegation claiming that his 2015 government could not find any even though teams were sent to Dubai. Ms Kumaratunga said it was found out in 2015 that a young son of a certain political leader had hidden USD 1000 million in a Dubai bank but the government could not bring it back.   

“I saw the bank statement with my own eyes. But, we could not charge him in court because we needed the original documents,” she said speaking at the 45th National Conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka on Wednesday night.  Responding to the allegations, Mr. Wickremesinghe said the government sent in teams to Dubai but could not find any.   

“I was told that the member’s relatives had kept money abroad. The bank was named as National Bank of Dubai. We sent in teams which had officials from the Police, AG’s Department and the Bribery Commission. We were not able to get anything at all.  It was not there. Minister Thilak Marapana spoke to the foreign minister of the UAE. There was no trace of the money. The bank said they cannot disclose anything unless we have a court order,” he said.   

He said the then government sent teams to Europe, Hong Kong and Singapore but could not find any dollar alleged to have been hidden.   

“The person who claimed of hidden money in Uganda is also withdrawing the allegation,” he said.   

Mr. Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka would not be able to control corruption unless sophisticated machinery is brought in.   

“Everyone talks of corruption. They talk of doing away with corruption within one year. Have they been able to do that? How many governments have come to power saying that they will do away with corruption? Why have we not been succeeding while some other countries have. Corruption has become a political tool and something for the media. No one looks at what has to be done. We have not had a sophisticated machinery that is needed to control corruption. It is not like 40 years ago, you can do something and you can get paid elsewhere. If you get money in Bitcoins, we don’t have the ability. Our own machinery cannot do that. I don’t think even the present president will be able to do that. That is why we discussed with the IMF as to what we should do,” he said.   

Mr. Wickremesinghe said the government filed number of cases in 2015 but most of them got acquitted.   

 “The present president talks of anti-corruption law. If you talk of bringing the money back, first, you need to identify it. So far there has not been any fund identification. Secondly, how can you bring it back? We need people who are trained for this. Some of the cases got rejected due to legal deficiency on our side,” he added.   

Ministers cannot steal without their secretaries and chief accountants being aware: Maithri

By Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama

While pointing out how ministers rob government assets, former President Maithripala Sirisena noted that ministers cannot steal without the knowledge of their secretaries and chief accountants.  

Addressing the 45th National Conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka), he stated that later, the secretaries and chief accountants begin to follow in their minister’s footsteps, and this practice trickles down to lower levels as well.  

Meanwhile, former President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that, except for unsolicited procurement, all other procurement processes must go through the Ministry Secretaries.  

Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga mentioned that an institute called the National Procurement Agency was formed during her government to oversee all procurements. The most trustworthy officials in the country were appointed to this agency.  

They did not become corrupt, but unfortunately, they were removed along with the agency by the government that came to power thereafter.