Commission recommends filing criminal cases against Gota, Senadhipathi and 11 others

Saturday, January 27, 2018

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry has recommended filing criminal cases against 13 individuals including former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Avant Garde Chairman Nissanka Senadhipathi over the Avant Garde case.

The final report of Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Serious Acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power, State Resources and Privileges (PRECIFAC) was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.

The other individuals against whom the Commission recommends filing criminal cases over the Avant Garde case include former Additional Defence Secretary Damayanthi Jayaratne, former Rakna Arakshaka Lanka Limited (RALL) CEO Major General K.B. Egodawela, former RALL Chairman Major General Palitha Fernando, former Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, former Mayor Dhanasiri Amaratunga, former Mayor Janaka Ranawaka, former MP Duminda Silva,

Western Provincial Councilor Upali Kodikara, former Navy Commanders Jayantha Perera and Jayanath Colombage and Rohanaweera De Zoysa.

The Commission has held that the state officials among those mentioned above are deemed not fit to hold any office in the public service hereafter. It observed the former Navy Commanders, who acted in a manner that Avant Garde Maritimes Services gets undue benefit, have been recruited to the company at higher salaries after their retirement.

It has proposed taking legal action against the deployment of RALL employees at election work and crediting those expenses to RALL, depriving a considerable income to the Navy by handing over the floating armory project to Avant Garde and not issuing permits under the Firearms Ordinance to the weapons possessed by the RALL.

It has also recommended that the Auditor General must be given full authority to audit the business undertakings with majority shares to the Government in the same manner that the public enterprises are being audited.