How Dinesh swallowed up fine money when he was minister!

Dec 02, 2016

Information is coming to light as to how joint opposition MP Dinesh Gunawardena, who is dreaming of military coups these days, swindled Rs. 63.6 million when he was the urban development minister during the previous regime. A Sri Lanka-Canada dual citizenship holder by the name Sivakumar applied to the UDA in 2005-07 to build a luxury apartment complex at 37th Lane, Wellawatte. Considering the request, the UDA permitted the construction of ‘Vancour Apartments’ as a seven-storey building.

However, Sivakumar used his friendship with Gunawardena, the subject minister, and violated the condition by constructing a nine-storey building. It had nearly 60 apartments, sold at a price of more than Rs. 16 million each. Upon Gunawardena’s mediation, the UDA has issued a condominium certificate for this illegal construction.

 

In 2010, when the UDA was taken over by Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, an investigation was conducted, following the exposure that it was the LTTE that had funded the construction of the apartment complex. The CID arrested Sivakumar and detained him for questioning. Under interrogation, he has told the CID that the UDA had ordered him to pay a Rs. 63.6 million fine for the two illegally constructed floors, but that he had got the fine money reduced to Rs. 20 million through minister Guanwardena.

 

The CID checked the UDA accounts, but found they had no records of such a payment. Upon further investigations, it was found the money had been deposited to an account owned by the sister of a Gunawardena’s coordinating secretary. She was said to be a close female friend of the minister. We have details of the identity of the account holder and other details, but refrain from publishing them due to legal reasons. The CID wanted Gunawardena to give a statement, but he avoided it through the then president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

 

In the meantime, Sivakumar paid yet another Rs. 20 million to the UDA and got the matter settled. Mahinda had asked his brother Gotabhaya not to reveal anything about the issue and to close the relevant file.

 

Before this incident, Gunawardena had been making constructive criticism against the Rajapaksa regime, but thereafter he had abandoned that stand and volunteered to do any dirty thing on behalf of the leader who had rescued him. That is how we should take the voice being raised by Gunarwardena today. Mahinda said during the last presidential election that he had the files of everybody with him, and this could have been just one file among them.